WHY CANCER FUND?
Why Cancer Fund
exists.
CANCER FUND is something different — built on a simple insight that most people in cancer care already know but nobody had acted on.
OUR ORIGIN: WHAT DIFFERENCE CAN OUR SUPPORT MAKE?
That question catalyzed the CANCER FUND community.
Cancer innovation is capital-intensive. Too often, the real risk isn’t “will the science work?” — it’s “will the company have enough funding to prove that it does?” Not a failure of science. A failure of capital.
Most of the 1,000+ early-stage companies in our pipeline seeking $10B+ in capital will not reach the patients they could help. The deeper you engage with our community, the more obvious the funding gap becomes.
Whether we donate $10 or invest $100M, none of us can do this alone.
That’s why CANCER FUND exists — and why it only works as a community. Together, we back the early-stage companies advancing cancer breakthroughs and help them reach the patients who need them.
— Anthony Bajoras, Managing Director & Founder, CANCER FUND Impact Investments®
THE INSIGHT
Today, the problem isn’t science.
It’s a lack of capital.
THE INSIGHT
Funded
NIH, NCI, and decades of philanthropic giving have produced extraordinary basic research. The breakthroughs are real. The science works. Immunotherapy, CAR-T, liquid biopsies — all came from research.
THE INSIGHT
Underfunded
The gap between lab discovery and patient access — company formation, early trials, FDA clearance — is where most innovations die. Traditional VC has moved downstream. Philanthropy stops at research. Nobody is here.
IT’S WHERE WE OPERATE
THE INSIGHT
Competitive
Phase II and beyond attracts traditional VC, pharma partnerships, and institutional capital. There is plenty of money chasing de-risked, late-stage assets. This stage doesn’t need us.
We track 1,000+ early-stage oncology companies seeking approximately $10B+ in capital — 95% of it at Seed and Series A. Not research projects, early-stage companies with real science. What they need is capital to prove it.
THE INSIGHT
THE GAP IS REAL AND QUANTIFIABLE
CANCER FUND tracks 1,000+ early-stage oncology companies seeking approximately $10B+ in capital — 95% of it at Seed and Series A. Traditional VC has moved downstream to Series B and beyond, where risk is lower and returns are faster. NIH and NCI primarily fund basic and early translational research, not companies at these stages. The result: the stage where discoveries become therapies goes almost entirely unfunded.
THIS IS WHERE YOUR CAPITAL MAKES THE MOST DIFFERENCE
At the earliest stage, patient capital enables the proof points that de-risk every dollar that follows. According to J.P. Morgan, the majority of life sciences capital now flows to companies already near the clinic — leaving the critical translational stage chronically underfunded. Early capital here doesn’t just fund a company. It creates the evidence that unlocks everything that follows.
NO ONE ELSE IS DOING THIS
CANCER FUND is the only fund built specifically for the pre-seed and seed stage in oncology — with a community of 10,000+ physicians, researchers, survivors, and investors who help source and evaluate every investment. Our community is the diligence engine. That’s not a feature — it’s a structural advantage that no institutional fund can replicate.
THE MODEL
A community that funds what it evaluates.
Most venture funds hire analysts. We built a community. Our 10,000+ members — oncologists, researchers, survivors, caregivers, and investors — function as a standing diligence and sourcing network. They review early-stage companies through our Screening Committee. Their collective expertise shapes every investment decision we make.
This isn’t a feature. It’s a structural advantage. No institutional fund has access to a physician-researcher community that can evaluate a pancreatic cancer diagnostic or a glioblastoma therapeutic from multiple angles simultaneously.
The same community that helps evaluate cancer innovations also supports them — through Cancer Fund I, LLC and through the CFC-DAF at ImpactAssets. That alignment between diligence and capital is rare. It’s what makes CANCER FUND different.
WE ARE NOT A CHARITY
Cancer Fund I is a for-profit venture fund. Investors may receive a financial return if portfolio companies are acquired or go public. We believe impact and return are complementary, not competing.
WE ARE ALSO NOT A TRADITIONAL VC
We don’t incubate companies. We don’t take board seats to flip companies quickly. We invest at the earliest stage, work alongside founders through the valley of death, and hold through to a meaningful exit.
WE ARE A COMMUNITY
Every member who joins our Screening Committee, gives to the CFC-DAF, or invests in Cancer Fund I is part of the solution. This only works because people like you show up.
Ready to be part of the solution?
Whether you give, invest, evaluate, or simply join — there is a place for you here.
Get involved
There are two ways to participate:
Invest. Cancer Fund I, LLC is offered to accredited investors under Rule 506(c).
Give. The CANCER FUND Community Donor Advised Fund (CFC-DAF) at ImpactAssets is open to anyone.
I want to INVEST to support cancer innovation
Verified accredited investors only; see subscription documents for current minimum and terms
I represent a FAMILY OFFICE, FOUNDATION, or INSTITUTIONAL investor
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I want to GIVE to support cancer innovation
Donate by credit or debit card or donor-advised fund (DAF) grant; open to everyone
I want to JOIN THE COMMUNITY to follow the future of cancer care
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