Country for PR: United Kingdom
Contributor: PR Newswire Europe
Monday, May 09 2022 - 21:37
AsiaNet
Series A financing round lays foundation for international growth of digital cancer therapeutics Mika
BERLIN,LAUSANNE,Switzerland,BARCELONA,Spain and MUNICH, May 9, 2022/PRNewswireAsiaNet/ --

New investors with a successful track record in digital oncology support German 
Digital Therapeutics (DTx) company Fosanis to broaden patient access of Mika – 
an app-based DTx platform empowering people affected by cancer.

Berlin-based digital health company Fosanis, the developer of Mika, Germany's 
first prescription DTx for all oncological indications, closed a series A 
funding round of more than 10 million EUR. Besides existing shareholders such 
as Ananda Impact Ventures, three new investors joined in the latest financing 
round: lead investor Swiss company Debiopharm Innovation Fund, Ship2B Ventures 
from Spain and venture capital firm Equity Pitcher.

As digital therapeutics gain momentum on a worldwide scale, Germany has 
pioneered the digital therapeutics regulation. Mika has emerged as the leading 
oncological DTx platform in Germany in recent years proving its value to cancer 
patients and the healthcare system in clinical trials. The personalised 
platform delivers evidence-based digital interventions with a view to 
supporting cancer patients in coping with the challenges of the disease and 
treatment process.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 19.3 million 
people are diagnosed with cancer worldwide. "Cancer knows no boundaries. 
Helping people affected by cancer shouldn't either", says Mika Founder and 
Managing Director Dr Jan Simon Raue. "We have developed Mika to bring back some 
of the control when guidance and support is most needed:­ from diagnosis all 
the way through the therapy process. Our mission is to empower everyone 
affected by cancer. Knowing that every cancer patient is a human being with 
individual needs, Mika provides personalised and comprehensive cancer therapy 
support, combining the latest insights in cancer research with 24/7 hands-on 
help wrapped up in an easy-to-handle and engaging digital tool."

The capital raised in this series A round will support Mika's expansion into 
international terrain. While Fosanis reveals its plan to enter the UK 
healthcare ecosystem still in 2022, it also wants to partner with renowned 
international cancer research centres to conduct even more studies on the 
medical impact of AI-driven personalisation in digital interventions. Mika 
Co-Founder and Managing Director Dr Gandolf Finke:
"The importance of digital health and digital therapeutics in particular is 
growing globally. This financing round marks an important milestone in our 
company history, allowing us to scale our oncology DTx platform and position 
our offerings internationally. We welcome our new investors on board and look 
forward to working closely with them to take Mika to new heights." 

Debiopharm is an experienced investor in the digital health domain with a 
special focus on cancer. Tanja Dowe, CEO of Debiopharm Innovation Fund: "We are 
convinced that digital solutions can fill many critical gaps in healthcare and, 
especially with regards to cancer therapy support, provide tremendous relief 
for patients and attending physicians alike. Mika promotes patient empowerment 
and enables those affected to cope with their disease and therapy, independent 
of time and location. For this very reason, we do not only think of ourselves 
as mere investors, but we also support the company in strategy and execution 
and are proud to accompany Mika's further growth."

Ship2B, based in Barcelona, invests primarily in start-ups that have the 
potential to make a worthwhile and lasting contribution to the world. Impact, 
i.e., the aspiration to make a real change, is at the forefront of their 
thinking, as Maite Fibla, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Ship2B, points 
out: "We are proud to contribute to the internationalization of Mika, which 
means being able to improve the quality of life of many more cancer patients. 
Not only does its mission meet our parameters of what an impact start-up should 
be, but we have felt fully committed to it. It seems especially significant to 
us to think that, thanks to what was achieved in the round, there may be the 
possibility of giving Spain, among other countries, this innovative proposal in 
oncological therapies."

Andrea Buhofer, Partner at EquityPitcher Ventures, moreover highlights the 
growing importance of patient-centric solutions in integrative digital 
oncology: "Personalized, digital and accessible support in cancer therapy is 
becoming increasingly important. Mika has developed an extremely user-friendly 
application with in-demand content, and we are very pleased to have been able 
to support Mika in continuing to grow and make therapy support available to 
more people."

Alongside the new investors, current shareholders contributed to the funding 
round, led by impact VC Ananda Impact Ventures and several business angels who 
had already joined Mika's mission in a previous seed investment round. Dr Bernd 
Klosterkemper, Partner at Ananda Impact Ventures, explains: "We are a home for 
entrepreneurs who tackle the pressing challenges of our time in a scalable way. 
From the very beginning, Mika has been aspiring to create a positive impact on 
the well-being and quality of life of cancer patients. As its meaningful vision 
deeply resonates with our ambition to back game-changing and purpose-driven 
solutions, we are very much looking forward to cementing ties and helping Mika 
achieve global impact."

About Fosanis

Founded in 2017 by Dr Gandolf Finke and Dr Jan Simon Raue, the digital health 
company Fosanis GmbH pursues the objective of empowering people affected by 
cancer with the aid of digital technology. To this end, Fosanis GmbH has 
developed the AI-powered DTx Mika in collaboration with leading oncological 
research institutions and cancer centres such as the University of Leipzig 
Medical Center and Charité Berlin. An app-based platform with clinically proven 
efficacy, Mika became the first and hitherto only 'digital health application' 
(DiGA) approved for all cancer patients in 2021. Mika is a personalised digital 
therapeutic (DTx) platform in oncology. Accompanying people affected by cancer 
over the course of their disease and therapy, Mika combines AI-powered 
monitoring and coaching, including scientifically tested methods and therapy 
management techniques. Daily check-ups – so-called ePROs = electronic 
patient-reported outcomes – allow continuous tracking of distress levels and 
symptoms, while a personalised coaching programme provides scientifically 
validated multi-media elements and psychooncological interventions. These 
include over 800 rigorously validated articles, videos and coping skills 
training courses – ranging from nutrition recommendations to physical exercise 
training and mindfulness coaching.

Fosanis is based in Berlin and employs more than 40 people. Further information 
can be found on www.mitmika.de and www.mikahealth.com 

About Debiopharm Innovation Fund

Debiopharm develops, manufactures and invests in innovative therapies and 
technologies that respond to high unmet medical needs in oncology and bacterial 
infections. Debiopharm Innovation Fund aims to provide strategic funding and 
guidance for companies with Smart Data & Digital Health solutions with the 
ambition to change the way drugs are developed and the way patients are 
treated. Our growing portfolio company achievements include 18 FDA clearances 
or CE marks and 2 IPOs along with 3 successful exits from mergers & 
acquisitions. Since 2018 Debiopharm has invested over USD 150 million, leading 
the investment rounds of 22 of the past 30 investments. For more information, 
please visit www.debiopharm.com

About Ship2B Ventures

Ship2B Ventures is a venture capital firm that invests in the best impact 
startups. As impact investors they seek to generate triple profitability: 
economic, social and environmental. Ship2B Ventures combine the best of the 
venture capital world with the impact world, maximizing the financial 
profitability of their investments with a clear intention to generate, manage 
and measure their impact. Currently, the investment team has managed 60 million 
€ and has participated in more than 25 investment rounds. Qida, Psious, CodeOp 
or Rosita Longevity are startups invested by Ship2B Ventures. For more 
information, please visit www.ship2bventures.com

About EquityPitcher Ventures

EquityPitcher is an early-growth Venture Capital firm that supports promising 
startups from the DACH region. Through close cooperation with renowned industry 
experts, investors and exit partners, we pave the way for entrepreneurs to 
attain the three decisive success factors: capital, know-how and network. For 
more information, please visit www.equitypitcher.com

About Ananda Ventures

Ananda Impact Ventures is the leading impact venture capital fund with a 
Europe-wide investment mandate. Ananda manages €180 million in four core impact 
funds and is backed by renowned institutional and private investors. Ananda 
funds technology companies that address the most pressing social and 
environmental challenges of our time in a scalable and sustainable way. Its 
active portfolio includes IESO Digital Health (online psychotherapy), Klim 
(regenerative agriculture) and Ororatech (which uses satellite technology to 
fight forest fires). For more information on Ananda Impact Ventures, please 
visit www.ananda.vc

Note to the Editor: If desired, we will gladly connect you with company 
founders Dr Gandolf Finke and Dr Jan Simon Raue.

Press contact Mika
The Medical Network
E-Mail: mika@themedicalnetwork.de
Tel. 040 32 90 47 38 99

Source: Debiopharm International SA