mika digital companion for cancer patients (mitmika.de)

	Status	2019-08-06 sales existent
	Organisation	Fosanis GmbH

IBB Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH. (8/6/19). "Press Release: Million-euro Financing for Berlin-based Start-up Mika ". Berlin.

Ananda Impact Ventures and IBB Beteiligungsgesellschaft invest in digital companion for cancer therapy

Tthe Berlin-based digital health start-up mika, the developer of a digital companion for cancer patients, has closed a million-euro financing deal. The capital comes from the venture capital firm Ananda Impact Ventures and VC Fonds Technologie Berlin, managed by IBB Beteiligungsgesellschaft. The new round of financing coincides with the passing of the German Digital Healthcare Act (Digitale Versorgung-Gesetz, DVG), which represents a decisive turning point in the German digital health market. As digital health solutions like mika can now also demonstrate their influence on therapy outcomes in clinical studies, they are increasingly regarded as an important component of care, and are subject to medical device law. The DVG will enable physicians to prescribe these digital therapeutics, and health insurance funds to reimburse their purchase.

Cancer remains one of the world’s greatest challenges for both medicine and society. According to the WHO, 18.1 million people were diagnosed with cancer in 2018. In Germany alone, every second individual will suffer from cancer in the course of their life.

To help these people, Dr Gandolf Finke and Dr Jan Simon Raue founded mika in 2017, and developed an app for patients and their relatives in cooperation with the Berlin university hospital Charité and University Hospital Leipzig. mika stands for “Mein interaktiver Krebs-Assistant” (“My Interactive Cancer Assistant”), and accompanies patients through therapy with a specially developed support program that is personalised based on the patient’s situation. Developed together with physicians and psycho-oncologists, the app provides information on diagnoses and treatment options, nutritional advice, relaxation exercises and concrete support for everyday living with cancer. In addition to valuable background information and motivating stories from former patients, users can utilise mika to document their physical and mental wellbeing, complaints and side effects in a patient diary, which they can reference in later discussions with treating physicians. The patient takes centre stage and is actively integrated in the treatment process using digital technology.

With Ananda Impact Ventures and IBB Beteiligungsgesellschaft, mika has now gained two new investors. “We invest in start-ups that deal with the major social challenges of our time – so mika is a perfect fit for us,” says Dr Bernd Klosterkemper from Ananda Impact Ventures. mika helps where it is needed, and does not leave patients to fend for themselves with shocking cancer diagnoses, emphasises Daniel Steffen, Senior Investment Manager at IBB Beteiligungsgesellschaft. “This is something we are very happy to support.”

mika will use the infusion of capital to conduct a clinical study and further develop mika. In future, the app will be able to respond to individual patients in an even more personalised manner using artificial intelligence. “With Ananda Impact Ventures and IBB Beteiligungsgesellschaft, we are pleased that we were able to convince two experienced representatives of the venture capital scene of the value of mika,” says mika founder Dr Gandolf Finke. “Together, we can improve the lives of millions of people suffering from cancer.” mika is available in the App Store and the Google Play store.

About mika

mika is a Berlin-based digital health company, founded by Dr Gandolf Finke and Dr Jan Simon Raue in 2017. The company’s goal is to accompany individuals with cancer through the challenging time of illness and treatment, and to sustainably improve their quality of life and the outcomes of therapy through digital technology. The team consists of software developers, designers, therapists and physicians, and also draws on its own experience; many employees are former cancer patients themselves, or have relatives who suffer from cancer. For more information, please visit www.mitmika.de.

Press contact:

Nana Gerritzen
[email protected]
0178 2920861

About Ananda Impact Ventures

Ananda Impact Ventures manages EUR 80 million in three funds, and is the leading impact venture capital fund with a pan-European investment focus. Ananda invests in outstanding impact businesses providing solutions to urgent social challenges. The active portfolio includes companies such as Auticon (IT consulting by individuals on the autism spectrum), IESO Digital Health (online psychotherapy), and Company Bike Solutions (company e-bike leasing for employees). For more information on Ananda Impact Ventures, please visit www.ananda.vc.

About IBB Beteiligungsgesellschaft

IBB Beteiligungsgesellschaft (www.ibb-bet.de) provides venture capital to innovative Berlin-based companies, and has established itself as market leader in Berlin in the field of early-stage financing. The funds are primarily used for the development and market launch of innovative products and services, as well as for the business concepts of creative industries. Since March 2015, there have been two funds under management of IBB Beteiligungsgesellschaft in the investment phase: VC Fonds Technologie Berlin II with a fund size of EUR 60 million, and VC Fonds Kreativwirtschaft Berlin II with a fund size of EUR 40 million. Both VC funds are financed by Investitionsbank Berlin (IBB) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), administered by the federal state of Berlin. In consortia with partners, IBB Beteiligungsgesellschaft has provided Berlin-based creative and technology companies around EUR 1.43 billion since 1997, of which IBB Beteiligungsgesellschaft has invested EUR 200 million as lead investor, co-lead investor or co-investor.

Kontakt:

Daniel Steffen
IBB Beteiligungsgesellschaft
Bundesallee 210
10719 Berlin

Tel: +49 (0)30 2125 3201
Mail: [email protected]