ACS BrightEdge Releases 2025 Impact Report: Advancing Cancer Innovation When and Where It Matters Most

Report highlights expanded entrepreneur support, growing investment impact, and innovative approaches to measuring patient outcomes and health equity

Centered on the theme Where Innovation Meets Its Moment, the report highlights BrightEdge's role in helping promising cancer-focused innovations navigate critical stages of development and move closer to the patients and families who need them most.

"At BrightEdge, we meet cancer innovation at its most critical inflection points," said Steve Curtis, PhD, interim managing director of BrightEdge. "We bring more than capital. We provide access to scientific expertise, strategic connections, and a patient-centered perspective that help innovators advance solutions with the potential to improve cancer outcomes."

A key highlight of the report is the continued growth of the BrightEdge Entrepreneurs Program, which supported 13 companies across its Life Sciences and Digital Health tracks in 2025. The program helps founders refine business strategies, access industry expertise, build valuable networks, and prepare for future growth. Together, companies from the 2024 and 2025 cohorts have raised more than $60 million in follow-on funding, demonstrating the program's ability to accelerate promising ideas and connect innovators with resources for long-term success.

The report also showcases the progress of the ACS Impact Venture Fund, which has invested in 21 companies across the cancer care continuum since inception. By the end of 2025, the fund had grown to more than $85 million in assets, while portfolio companies had collectively raised more than $4 billion in follow-on capital to advance innovations in cancer prevention, detection, treatment, survivorship, and care delivery.

Beyond investments, BrightEdge continued to strengthen its leadership in impact measurement. In 2025, the organization expanded its Cancer Impact Investment Framework™ and introduced its Health Equity Classification™, a new tool designed to evaluate how companies address equity through product design, beneficiary reach, and access strategies. These frameworks help ensure that investments are aligned with meaningful outcomes for patients and communities.

The report highlights the real-world impact of these efforts. During 2025, innovations developed by BrightEdge portfolio companies impacted more than 640,000 patients and their families. As these technologies continue to scale, their potential reach is estimated to exceed 11.3 million people.

"Advancing the future of cancer care requires collaboration across research, entrepreneurship, investment, and advocacy," Curtis added. "The accomplishments highlighted in this report reflect the dedication of our entrepreneurs, portfolio companies, investors, advisors, and supporters who share our commitment to ending cancer as we know it, for everyone."

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