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March 23, 2000

Ten Fast Facts

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cancerfacts.com

WHO:
An Internet portal founded in 1998 by Max Lyon, Howard Mahran and Kay Syrrist.

WHAT:
Dispenses information about various forms of cancer.

WHERE:
Seattle

Fast Fact #1: cancerfacts.com uses the Internet to help cancer patients and doctors collaborate to better understand treatment options.

Comment: The company has developed proprietary software known as the Cancer Profiler. People enter information about themselves, including personal health history and lab and test results, on the cancerfacts Web site. The Cancer Profiler combs a massive data base of clinical papers and journal articles. The Cancer Profiler then produces a report based on the studies that best fit a patient's particular situation. "Our tool allows patients to [benefit from] the experience of thousands of other patients who've gone through clinical studies," says Eve Stern, president of cancerfacts.

Fast Fact #2: The service helps cancer patients answer the frequently asked question, "What does this mean to me?"

Comment: cancerfact.com's founders come from the pharmaceutical and oncology device industry. One of them, Howard Mahran, frequently made presentations to industry groups. Inevitably, patients in the audience would pepper him with questions about the latest treatments and how those treatments might apply to their situation. Eventually, Mahran approached Lyon and Syrrist about starting a business to supply patients with that information.

Fast Fact #3: The Cancer Profiler does not prescribe or diagnose.

Comment: It does, however, allow patients to "weigh the pros and cons of treatments themselves," says Stern. That's important because most physicians share only those alternatives they are familiar with and fail to disclose all possible options, says Stern. "The doctors themselves can't stay current with all the information that's out there," she explains. For instance, two-thirds of all patients confront their doctors with information from studies they've found on the Web, but the source is often unknown or unreliable so the physician can't respond, says Stern. Using the Cancer Profiler can literally put doctors and patients on the same page as they consider treatment options, she says.

Fast Fact #4: Doctors may find cancerfacts.com as useful as patients.

Comment: The company signed a licensing agreement with Medical Economics, publishers of the Physicians Desk Reference (PDR). The agreement will merge the oncology portion of the publication's Web site, PDR.net, with the cancerfacts Web site. Click on oncology at PDR.net and you'll find yourself at cancerfacts.com. Stern says the agreement gives cancerfacts credibility, increases traffic and opens a door to the physician market.

Fast Fact #5: The Cancer Profiler is a free service.

Comment: Plans call for an enhanced version to cost $49.95 a year, which will allow users to view studies in more detail and alert them when new studies appear. However, the basic Cancer Profiler will remain free, says Stern.

Fast Fact #6: cancerfacts.com will earn most of its revenue as an application service provider.

Comment: The company is marketing versions of the Cancer Profiler to other organizations such as hospitals, which can tailor the technology to their own Web sites. "The back end is all ours, but it looks and feel like theirs," says Stern.

Fast Fact #7: cancerfacts.com won't sell banner advertising.

Comment: Stern says banner ads might undermine the site's credibility. cancerfacts will, however, sell sponsorships of certain features. It also may share or sell some of the nonpersonal information it collects from Cancer Profiler users. However, the data will be presented in aggregate form only.

Users will remain anonymous and must first give permission for their data to be shared.

Fast Fact #8: cancerfacts.com has registered 39 other domain names.

Comment: cancerfacts.com contains basic information about many types of cancer, but so far the Cancer Profiler extends only to prostrate, colorectal and breast cancer. However, more cancers will be covered by the Cancer Profiler in the future. In addition, cancerfacts.com intends to apply the same model to other diseases and health issues. diabetesfacts.com and cardiofacts.com will debut later this year. Besides the profiler technology, all sites will provide links, articles, discussion groups and first-person stories.

Fast Fact #9: An online marketplace accompanies each disease category.

Comment: Each marketplace features publications and products for people living with specific diseases. cancerfacts, which has negotiated discounts with vendors such as PlanetRx.com, collects commissions on sales and donates a percentage to patient advocacy groups and research efforts.

Fast Fact #10: cancerfacts.com is conducting a second round of financing.

Comment: The three founders self-funded the company before gaining initial venture financing from Cardinal Health Partners and ARCH Venture Partners. Once the latest round of funding is complete, "we'll probably look at some type of public offering by the end of the year," says Stern.



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