As the world’s first online cancer support platform, London-based Perci Health has raised £3.4m in a seed round led by Octopus Ventures (London-based VC who has invested in other female-led health startups like Ori Biotech, Vira health and more).
With this investment, the company will be able to continue investing in its technology roadmap, expand its team, and increase access to cancer patients.
Innovations in screening, diagnostics, and novel cancer therapies have contributed to radical improvements in cancer survival over the last few decades. Cancer patients’ aftercare, however, has lagged behind. Only 30 years ago, cancer was a death sentence, so dealing with cancer survivors is a relatively new field of medicine.
Digital clinic for cancer survivors
Perci’s mission is to change perceptions about life after cancer treatment and challenge the status quo. Their specialised digital platform delivers personalised programmes to those living with or beyond cancer, as well as their caregivers. Throughout the cancer continuum, the programs provide support, from preparing for treatment to recovery and rehabilitation.
Kelly McCabe and Morgan Fitzsimons co-founded the company in 2020 with funding raised from leading oncologists and cancer surgeons in the UK. McCabe has more than 12 years’ experience in cancer care as a registered oncology dietitian and former COO of cancer services at HCA International. Fitzsimons served as global head of marketing at ASOS and digital director at CBS Television in New York. Chantal Cox led the round for Octopus Ventures and will join the board of directors.
Providing healthcare to a growing population of people living with cancer and beyond poses important challenges for our healthcare systems. In order to address this issue, Perci Health makes high quality cancer care more accessible and helps people make the right decisions about their long-term health and wellbeing. Not to replace core treatment, but instead to enhance traditional cancer care by providing personalised clinical support to manage long-term effects.
For many years the long-term support provided to people with cancer has required further funding, and innovation. Charities such as Macmillan who have been spearheading this movement, have highlighted the gap in service provision for decades, with cancer patients describing a sense of ‘abandonment’ once their treatment ends.
Kelly McCabe, Co-Founder, said: “People who survive their cancers feel lost in transition. They can’t get the care they need, find the healthcare system confusing and uncoordinated, and continue to suffer with the late and long-term effects of curative cancer treatments. At Perci, with our growing team of specialists, we’re on a mission to change that.
“Perci Health found initial success by unlocking innovative reimbursement models for this much needed care through employers and insurers and is exploring how best to support NHS treatment facilities.
“In the UK, 1,000 people are diagnosed with cancer every day and of those, 36% are of working age. However, there is little-to-no support focused on helping to remain in or return to work post cancer-treatment, even for those with comprehensive medical insurance. Employers are looking for novel solutions to better support their employees impacted by cancer”.
Chantal Cox, Investor, Health, Octopus Ventures said: “We want to back people and ideas that will change the world for the better. With Kelly and Morgan’s extensive global experience and network in cancer care and brand marketing respectively, we recognise that they have the potential to have a major impact in holistic cancer care for both survivors and their loved ones.
“We were impressed with their dedication and approach to human-centric care which goes the extra mile from diagnosis and beyond. I look forward to continuing to work with Morgan, Kelly, and the wider team as I join the board and Perci Health becomes part of the Octopus Ventures family”.
McCabe added: “Over the past year, we’ve been able to support many people affected by cancer to access high quality, one-to-one clinical care, delivered by an incredible community of cancer specialists who are typically hard to access outside of the UK’s large cancer centres. Investment from Octopus Ventures is validation of the size and importance of the problem we are trying to solve and our approach blending the very best of technology and human-experts to create a scalable, sustainable healthcare model.”
