Macmillan Cancer Support has launched Macmillan Ventures, a £30 million investment fund focused on backing technologies and solutions designed to improve cancer care in the UK. The fund is being fuelled by donations from philanthropists and organisations supporting developments in cancer treatment and care.
Macmillan Ventures aims to bring together people living with cancer, healthcare innovators and funding partners to support technologies that could improve diagnosis, treatment and support services. The fund is focused on helping healthcare startups develop products designed around the needs of people living with cancer and supporting adoption into NHS care.
Macmillan Cancer Support said it has already invested more than £3.5 million since 2023 into UK healthcare startups developing technologies related to cancer treatment and care. Existing investments include artificial intelligence diagnostic tools, upright radiotherapy technology, digital cancer support clinics, cancer diagnostics and home sepsis testing technologies.
The charity said 5.4 million people are expected to be living with cancer in the UK by 2045, representing a 58% increase from current levels. Research cited by Macmillan found that 47% of people living with cancer in the UK feel the NHS is struggling to provide good quality healthcare, while 20% of people undergoing cancer treatment report serious physical or emotional concerns for which they do not receive support.
Macmillan Cancer Support said the fund is intended to help scale technologies and solutions capable of improving access to cancer diagnosis, treatment and support across the UK healthcare system.
If you care about the future of our healthcare system. If you care about ‘what happens next’ when someone hears the words “you have cancer”, then please join us and help us to write a far more positive ending to that story. Help us shape a cancer care system that can offer everyone the best possible cancer care, where and when people need it the most.
Macmillan's investment is more than capital - it's a partnership with an organisation that deeply understands the patient journey and shares our commitment to improving patient outcomes while reducing the anxiety and uncertainty that comes with a cancer diagnosis.
