Reinventing Cancer Care Philanthropy Through Impact Investing

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Episode Overview: 

What if philanthropy and investment could work hand-in-hand to revolutionize cancer care? Our next guest, Alice Pomponio, is pioneering a groundbreaking model to do just that.

As the Managing Director of BrightEdge - the American Cancer Society's impact investment arm - Alice is harnessing the power of venture capital to fuel mission-driven healthcare startups. 

By investing in innovative technologies across the cancer care continuum, BrightEdge aims to not only generate financial returns, but also drive tangible improvements in cancer prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship.

Join us as Alice shares her personal journey that led her to this role, and explains how BrightEdge is reshaping the landscape of cancer philanthropy. Discover how this unique model is unlocking capital, amplifying impact, and bringing more equitable solutions to patients in need. Let’s go! 

Episode Highlights:

• Alice shares her personal story of how tragedy transformed into a strategy to drive impact in the cancer space
• She explains how BrightEdge, the American Cancer Society's impact investment arm, is pioneering a unique model to generate financial returns and drive mission-driven innovation
• Alice discusses how BrightEdge invests across the entire cancer care continuum - from prevention to diagnosis to treatment to survivorship
• She highlights how BrightEdge leverages the American Cancer Society's deep expertise and vast network to support and accelerate its portfolio companies
• Alice outlines the future vision for BrightEdge, including plans to further infuse impact considerations into investment decisions and unlock new sources of capital

About our Guest: 

Alice brings an extensive experience in life sciences and business, coupled with her passion for the American Cancer Society’s lifesaving mission.

She is an expert in rare disease and precision oncology, and focuses on disruptive technology adoption and companion diagnostic/therapeutic co-development strategies with an eye toward value-based care. Most recently, she was an advisor at Red Sky Partners LLC and the founder and managing director of Accendo. At Red Sky Partners, Alice advised high-growth life sciences and health tech companies on go-to-market and product value strategies. In 2018, she founded Accendo to accelerate entrepreneurial consumer-facing approaches to patient access and affordability of quality care.

She held prior strategy and operational leadership roles at Radius Health, AstraZeneca, and Sanofi Genzyme, where she launched multiple US and global specialty products and championed orphan drug and health equity initiatives across the globe. Her public sector experience spans innovation, trade, and healthcare policy through roles in the UK Government and US Office of Management and Budget.

Alice holds a Master of Public Policy from Harvard University and a Bachelor of Science in Biology from MIT. She serves on the Boards of Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, MassEcon, and PhagePro Inc. Additionally, she is a faculty member at Harvard-MIT HST Sloan Healthcare Ventures, a role she will retain during her tenure with the American Cancer Society.

In addition to her industry experience, Alice is a longtime American Cancer Society and American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network volunteer leader.

Links Supporting This Episode:

• BrigtEdge Website: