Resilience: A New Approach to Cancer Treatment

Resilience: A New Venture Focused on Enhancing Cancer Care

Resilience is a recently established startup dedicated to supporting both cancer treatment centers and patients throughout their entire treatment experience. This ambitious undertaking is the brainchild of two prominent French entrepreneurs, aiming to apply their technological expertise to the healthcare sector.

Founding Team and Background

The company is co-led by Céline Lazorthes and Jonathan Benhamou. Nicolas Helleringer serves as the Chief Technology Officer (CTO), while Matthieu Pozza holds the position of Chief Product Officer (CPO).

Lazorthes previously co-founded Leetchi, France’s leading platform for collective fundraising. She also initiated MangoPay, a payment solution designed for marketplaces, both of which were subsequently acquired by Crédit Mutuel Arkéa.

Benhamou was a co-founder of PeopleDoc, a cloud-based Human Resources service. His company was acquired by Ultimate Software in 2018, after which he held an executive role within the publicly traded organization. Later, Ultimate Software was acquired by Hellman & Friedman Capital Partners.

Origins in Charitable Work

Last year, both founders collaborated extensively on ProtegeTonSoignant, a nonprofit initiative. Together with a team of 140 individuals, they successfully raised €7.4 million ($8.8 million) to procure and distribute personal protective equipment to hospitals in need. This involved significant fundraising and logistical coordination.

Following extensive discussions with healthcare professionals, they resolved to “dedicate at least the next 10 years to those who save lives,” as stated by Lazorthes.

Acknowledging the Challenges

The founders recognize the scale of their ambition. “We don’t know anything about healthcare just like we didn’t know anything about HR and finance. We’re entering a market that is highly regulated,” Benhamou explained.

Focusing on Cancer Treatment Complexity

To address this, Resilience has chosen to concentrate specifically on cancer care. Despite substantial progress in research, cancer treatment is becoming increasingly complex. Benhamou anticipates the emergence of 300 new treatments within the next three years alone.

Key Issues Facing Cancer Treatment Facilities

Cancer treatment centers are grappling with several critical challenges. Firstly, “a human brain can’t assimilate all this data,” according to Benhamou. Secondly, increasing life expectancy leads to a growing number of cancer diagnoses annually.

Tumor boards often have limited time – approximately one and a half to two minutes – to evaluate each case and determine the optimal therapeutic approach.

Consequently, patients frequently find themselves navigating their treatment journeys with insufficient support, experiencing side effects due to a lack of personalized dosage adjustments.

Resilience’s Comprehensive Software Solution

Resilience aims to provide a comprehensive software solution for cancer treatment, catering to both medical teams and patients. For practitioners, it will function as a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform designed to enhance therapeutic decision-making.

Leveraging Technology for Improved Outcomes

The company will categorize scientific literature, employ machine learning to identify parallels with previous cases, and present relevant clinical trials based on specific criteria.

For patients, a dedicated web and mobile application will offer access to information and resources regarding their cancer. This includes understanding and managing potential side effects.

“Our goal is to prove that the app can improve the quality of life of the patients,” Lazorthes stated. Resilience also intends to utilize the app to gather data and refine treatment protocols.

Data Science and Partnerships

The startup is actively assembling a data science team. They will utilize natural language processing to analyze scientific publications and collaborate with a medical team to ensure accuracy.

To identify similarities between patients, the company is establishing partnerships with hospitals to access historical case data.

Funding and Key Investors

Resilience has secured $6 million (€5 million) in funding, led by Singular, a venture capital firm founded by Raffi Kamber and Jérémy Uzan. The round also includes participation from numerous tech business angels, including Nathalie Balla (La Redoute), Xavier Niel (Free), Jean-Charles Samuelian (Alan), and Roxanne Varza (Station F).

The funding round also features investments from healthcare-focused investors such as Charles Ferté (AstraZeneca), Philippe Dabi (Bioclinic), and Thomas Clozel (Owkin).

A Collaborative Approach

Resilience operates as a mission-driven organization, collaborating with both a scientific board and a patient advisory board. Gustave Roussy, a leading cancer research institute, is also functioning as a co-founder.

This multi-stakeholder approach ensures a robust system of checks and balances, facilitating iterative product development and increasing the likelihood of delivering a solution that genuinely improves cancer treatment.

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