Macmillan Cancer Support has launched Macmillan Ventures, a new investment fund being fuelled by donations from visionary philanthropists and organisations who want to help transform care for people living with cancer in the UK.
For Macmillan, their latest venture in delivering better cancer care is not just about the money, but all about creating the right conditions for new ideas and solutions to thrive.
With someone in the UK being diagnosed with cancer every 75 seconds, and with 5.4 million people expected to be living with cancer in the UK by 2045 – a 58% rise on where we are today– the charity says, “things urgently need to change if demand for high quality cancer care is to be met.”
Right now, Macmillan believes far too many people are being lost to a cancer care system that is too slow, impersonal, and unfair. A system where more needs to be done to make cancer care not just better, but fairer for all.
Only recently, the latest research by the charity revealed how around half of the almost 3.5 million people living with cancer in the UK (47%) feel that the NHS is struggling to provide good quality healthcare.
Other research from Macmillan shows how one in five people going through cancer treatment in the UK (20%) struggle with serious physical or emotional concerns for which they do not receive any support.
Macmillan Ventures is being launched to help address those big issues in UK cancer care and represents a huge scaling up of ambition by the charity, which has already invested over £3.5 million since 2023 into UK healthcare startups involved in spearheading significant technological breakthroughs.
What the new fund demonstrates is the potential for charities, for innovators and those who want their money to do good, to act as trusted partners for governments and the NHS by developing and scaling up the new technologies and solutions needed to meet an ever-increasing demand for world-class cancer treatment and care.
Macmillan’s existing investment portfolio already includes support for shining-light companies like Lucida Medical, whose artificial intelligence tool Pi is being piloted in the NHS to help deliver ‘same day’ prostate cancer diagnostic tests – cutting through the anxiety of waiting that so dominates UK cancer care.
To date, investment from the charity ranges from upright radiotherapy technology which has been designed with patients to help increase comfort and precision during treatment, to a digital cancer support clinic which could help cut through the inconsistencies that exist in cancer care provision across the UK.
For Macmillan, whether it is a new test for hard-to-diagnose cancers or a potentially lifesaving home sepsis test, this is an investment portfolio with a difference. A portfolio shaped by people living with cancer.
That is why the charity is now actively fundraising and seeking out new partners who want to help make better care a reality for everyone diagnosed with cancer in the future.
Lord Philip Hammond, Ambassador for Macmillan Ventures said: “During my time as both Chancellor of the Exchequer and as a government minister, I saw just how much good can be achieved when the public, private and voluntary sectors come together around a shared goal.
“That is what Macmillan Ventures is doing right now – bringing together the right coalition of philanthropists, corporate partners, people living with cancer and healthcare innovators together to build a better future. A future where everyone living with cancer gets the world-leading treatment and care they need.
“If you care about the future of our healthcare system. If you care about ‘what happens next’ when someone hears the words “you have cancer”, then please join us and help us to write a far more positive ending to that story. Help us shape a cancer care system that can offer everyone the best possible cancer care, where and when people need it the most.”
Michael Stickland, Macmillan Director of Corporate Partnerships and Philanthropy said: “In 1911 we cycled to people’s homes to deliver coal. In the 1970s we developed cancer nurse specialists. And in 2026 we are applying that same unwavering commitment to achieving better cancer care, for everyone, in a world that is quickly being reshaped by digital innovation, AI-driven diagnostics and precision medicine.
“Macmillan Ventures is all about bringing together the right financial partners with the right healthcare innovators to help deliver our vision of a world in which no one with cancer is left behind. Where potential signs of cancer are picked up at the earliest possible opportunity. Where everyone has the right support from day one, and where world-class care is the norm for everyone, no matter who they are or where they live.
“UK cancer care can be better. It can be made fairer. What we need to do now is bring the right people and the right innovations together to help make that a reality.”
Pahini Pandya, CEO and Founder of Panakeia, whose artificial intelligence platform aims to deliver specialist cancer test results in minutes rather than weeks said: “I founded Panakeia after my own experience waiting anxiously for lab test results in relation to a cancer scare, so patients and their families have always been at the heart of everything we do.
“Macmillan’s investment is more than capital – it’s a partnership with an organisation that deeply understands the patient journey and shares our commitment to improving patient outcomes while reducing the anxiety and uncertainty that comes with a cancer diagnosis.”
And for Macmillan, that unwavering focus on what patients experience during their care is what Macmillan Ventures is all about – it is an investment into creating a better future and transforming what cancer diagnosis, treatment and recovery looks like for the millions of people who will hear the words “you have cancer” in the future.