Ask HN: Which startups are fighting Cancer?

11 points by mychael ↗ HN
I don't have a medical background, but I'm an engineer and I would like to help contribute my skills towards cancer cure research or treatment.

What are the most impactful startups in this space?

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Source: was cancer researcher, now for 20 years on commercial side (sales, marketing, bizdev etc).

Largest impact to reduce cancer rates/mortality is early detection. Biggest valuations alas in late-stage disease, that's reality, for $8K/mo targeted Rx that only extends life a matter of months (on average, although some remarkable responders i.e. Jimmy Carter's metastatic melanoma).

Largest startup by far for early detection of cancer is GRAIL, something like $1.3B invested.

Long tail of small companies with their unique special sauce. A few off the top of my head: Bluestar Genomics, Epigenomics AG, CellMax Life (out of Taiwan), Singlera Genomics, LAM Research, EarlyDx.

Is it possible to get early diagnosis of lung cancers such as Mesothelioma? I knew someone who has just died from this less than a year after diagnosis. It's something that's rare enough that false positives might be a problem.
I'm a Software Engineer and I would also like to help such researches with my skills...

I'm emotionally attached to this fight as my mother died 3 years ago due to adenocarcinoma. That disease not only cost me my mother but also made the whole family financially weak...

Although, I've completed my B. Sc in CSE ( in the same year my mom passed away) After completing my B. Sc I had joined a Startup as a software engineer and worked there for around 9 months. Since then, I've been providing python based web development, data mining and analysis services on various freelance platforms and through my website. With the help of my wife I have also started my own startup which consists of 6 members including us & focused on web application development & Data Mining/ Analysis services.

I have keen interest in cancer research... Hopefully, I will pursue MS/PhD on relevant field when I have enough fund for that so that, I can learn more about it.

My target is to save at least 1

I would also be interested in helping with that kind of research. I am a hardware engineer with background in wireless engineering and other electronic design. Please let me know if you find something worth while.