Berlin-based HealthTech company Mika selected by White House Backed CancerX Accelerator Program
The German HealthTech company Mika has succeeded as the only German company in the selection process and is now part of the first cohort of the new White House-backed “CancerX Accelerator” program. The CancerX initiative was re-launched last year by the White House to actively pursue the goals of the Cancer Moonshot. The Cancer Moonshot aims to reduce cancer mortality by at least half over the next 25 years and improve the quality of life for patients and their families. The recently selected startups will collaborate with “CancerX Champions” as part of the program. Mika was uniquely chosen as a partner by four Champions.
The CancerX Accelerator program promotes digital innovations in oncology by offering startups the opportunity to collaborate with leading companies in technology, cancer patient treatment, and cancer research. The program is based on the Cancer Moonshot announced by the White House in 2016, which has been actively pursued again since 2022. As part of the reignition, CancerX was established by the White House in 2023 as a consortium of various private and public organizations and companies in oncology. Mika joined CancerX at the beginning of 2024 and is now part of the first group of supported startups. This cohort includes Mika as well as The Blue Box, C the Signs, Cancer Insights, Curvia, EnteroTrack, Gesund.ai, Gray Oncology, LindAI, Navya, Oatmeal Health, Orbit Genomics, Realyze Intelligence, Reimagine Care, SurvivorPlan, and Xanthos. Besides C the Signs, Mika is the only European company in the accelerator program.
Mika won the selection process
Mika prevailed in a selection process over three rounds of evaluation among more than 100 applicants. The selection was made by the CancerX Champions Debiopharm, Reveal HealthTech, UC Davis Health, Atrium, Dell Technologies, Intel, AstraZeneca, AWS, and Oncology Ventures, along with other members of the CancerX community. “It’s a tremendous validation of our work to be among the first members of this pioneering support program, and especially to have convinced four outstanding sponsors to collaborate with us. This will allow us to more effectively achieve our goal of improving the quality of life and survival rates of cancer patients. This is also an important step for our upcoming market entry in the United States,” said Dr. Gandolf Finke, founder and Managing Director of Mika.
As part of the Accelerator program, Mika and the other participants will collaborate with their sponsors over a four-month period and engage with mentors and CancerX members from across the entire healthcare ecosystem, including investors, provider organizations, and oncology experts, to test and validate their solutions. The program aims to result in long-term partnerships and viable growth plans for the participants. “I have conviction that the CancerX Accelerator, through its unique collaborative ecosystem, will strengthen the clinically contributive role of digital therapeutics in oncology for Americans, and accelerate desperately needed patient and clinician access to our treatments to help defeat this terrible disease”, said Mark Slaughter, Chief Strategy and Growth Officer of Mika.
About Mika
Mika is an app-based platform aimed at providing targeted and comprehensive support to people with cancer using digital technology. Through scientifically proven methods and techniques of therapy management, the Digital Therapeutics (DTx) helps patients to actively participate in their treatment and regain more quality of life - with daily symptom monitoring, psychologically oriented coaching courses, and AI-supported, personalized recommendations. To achieve this, Mika combines innovative machine learning technologies with a multimedia knowledge database of rigorously verified content, such as nutritional tips, exercise routines, or mindfulness training. The evidence-based content was developed in collaboration with leading oncological research institutions and tumor centers such as the Berlin Charité and the University Hospital Leipzig. As a clinically effective medical product, Mika has been shown to help reduce psychological distress in all oncological indications. Fosanis, the Digital Health company behind Mika, was founded in Berlin in 2017 by Dr. Gandolf Finke and Dr. Jan Simon Raue and completed a Series-A financing round of more than 10 million euros in 2022. After tens of thousands of patients in Germany and the UK have already used the free DTx platform alongside their cancer therapy, the fifty-strong team of experts continues to expand its growth in the global HealthTech market. More information at www.mika.health
About CancerX
Part of the U.S. Cancer Moonshot initiative, CancerX is a public-private partnership announced by The White House as a national accelerator to boost innovation in the fight against cancer. Co-hosted by the Digital Medicine Society (DiMe) and Moffitt Cancer Center, alongside the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) and Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH), it convenes the many diverse stakeholders needed to unleash the power of innovation to create a future that's free of cancer burden. To learn more or participate in CancerX's pre-competitive, evidence-generating efforts; Accelerator cohort; or demonstration projects, visit www.cancerx.health.
Press Contact: Dr. Justus Meyer
Email: press@mika.health
Phone: +49 177 290 82 32
