New York, NY — Previvor Edge today announced the launch of its comprehensive clinical program focused on personalizing cancer prevention and early detection. The company has raised $3.3 million in an oversubscribed pre-seed round, led by CoFound Partners and Max Ventures, with participation from Humbition Capital, Red Swan Ventures, and Designer Fund. The program, which is already in-network with multiple insurance carriers, is now open: individuals can join the waitlist here and providers can refer patients here.
While Cancer Is Common, How You Prevent It and Detect It Should Be Tailored to You
Cancer is one of the biggest health challenges we face. It is a leading cause of death, with 40% of Americans diagnosed in their lifetime. Meanwhile, the incidence of early-onset cancers are on the rise. As one example, the rate of colorectal cancer cases for those under 55 nearly doubled in the last 30 years. We need better strategies to get ahead of cancer.
Because every person’s risk of cancer is unique, a one-size-fits-all approach is not enough. The risk of developing cancer is shaped by personal medical history, family history, genetics, lifestyle and environmental exposures, yet many individuals do not know their personal risk. As a result, proven prevention and detection strategies to manage an elevated risk are underused. For example, about 90% of patients with an inherited cancer-related mutation only learn about their increased risk after cancer is already diagnosed. Less than 40% of patients with a family history of colorectal cancer get their colonoscopies early, and only 15% of women who would benefit from chemoprevention, which can reduce their risk of breast cancer by 49%, receive this treatment.
Beyond the challenges of putting proven steps into practice, many people are eager to explore emerging detection strategies now under investigation, such as full body MRIs and blood-based screening tests. However, these tools are rarely integrated in a way that is aligned with an individual’s personal risk, complements established screening and prevention strategies, and is supported by an expert clinical team that takes responsibility for the findings.
Previvor Edge: A Comprehensive Solution for Personalized Cancer Prevention and Early Detection
That's where Previvor Edge comes in. Powered by its proprietary technology platform and clinical experts, Previvor Edge provides a single place for people to access a multidisciplinary team including physicians, nurse practitioners, and genetic counselors, who help them get an edge against cancer in a way that’s empowering, not overwhelming.
Previvor Edge was co-founded by Michelle Zimmerman, CEO, who previously built the oncology business at genomics leader Sema4 (now GeneDx) and Sven Karlsson, COO, an experienced operator with a background in building and scaling healthcare businesses.
“Like so many families, mine has been deeply affected by cancer. Recently, someone very close to me had cancer caught early, and that saved her life. But many people don’t get that chance, and that has to change,” said Zimmerman. “We have the tools in place, both with early detection and prevention, to defeat cancer’s reign. What is special about the Previvor program is that it is not constrained by traditional silos: It marries internal medicine with genetics, lifestyle medicine, and oncology in a comprehensive plan because that is what is needed to move the needle. And our program is covered by insurance because we believe life-saving prevention and early detection should be accessible to all.”
Previvor Edge goes further than existing cancer prevention and detection programs by creating an in-depth profile of each person's risk and building a personalized action plan that extends beyond standard age-based screening recommendations. The clinical team implements established guidelines and, when those guidelines are unclear, conflicting, or incomplete, develops protocols in consultation with its Clinical Advisory Board to address each patient’s personal circumstances. The Previvor model ensures that personalized care plans integrate both evidence-based strategies and emerging technologies that go beyond the standard of care and evolve over time as patients’ risk and preferences change, evidence changes, and new strategies become available.
Bringing World-Class Expertise to Every Patient
Previvor Edge is already seeing patients, and early results demonstrate the model’s impact: more than 90% of patients experienced a change in their prevention or detection strategy that otherwise would have been missed.
“As an oncologist, I’ve seen firsthand the devastation cancer causes for patients and families,” said William Oh, MD, Chair of Previvor Edge’s Clinical Advisory Board and Director of Precision Medicine at Yale Cancer Center & Smilow Cancer Hospital. “We have the tools today - genetic testing, advanced imaging, lifestyle interventions - that could dramatically change outcomes, but they aren’t reaching enough people. Previvor Edge is the first scalable model to integrate these options into a single platform in a clinically responsible manner. It has the potential to save countless lives by helping people take control of their cancer risk early, when it’s most treatable, or even before it starts.”
Bridging perspectives as both an oncologist and primary care physician, Ilana Yurkiewicz, MD, Co-Director of Primary Care for Cancer Survivorship & Previvorship at Stanford University and advisor to Previvor Edge, added, “Previvor Edge offers comprehensive care and follow-up for high-risk patients in one place. It gives primary care and OB-GYN colleagues exactly what they need: an expert medical team to expand upon the care they already provide. Cancer care has long focused on treating disease, with far fewer resources devoted to prevention. We have clinical guidelines, but they’re rarely implemented in practice. That’s the shift Previvor Edge is leading. In my four years caring for cancer ‘previvors,’ people at elevated risk, I’ve seen some other proactive models emerge, but often they’re piecemeal.”
Previvor Edge’s Clinical Advisory Board includes:
- Allison Kurian, MD: Professor of Medicine (Oncology) & Epidemiology, Stanford University
- Anil Rustgi, MD: Director, Cancer Center, NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University
- Ilana Yurkiewitz, MD: Co-Director of Primary Care for Cancer Survivorship & Previvorship at Stanford University
- Rebecca Kaltman, MD: Executive Director, Inova Saville Cancer Screening & Prevention Center
- William Oh, MD: Director of Precision Medicine at Yale Cancer Center & Smilow Cancer Hospital
Previvor Edge’s doors are now open. The company is partnering with health systems who are looking to establish a cancer prevention and detection program, and with providers whose patients are seeking access to specialized care. The company encourages individuals to make an appointment by joining the waitlist, providers to refer patients and industry leaders to meet the team at HLTH 2025 to learn more about its mission to make comprehensive cancer prevention and early detection accessible to all.
Contact
Partnership and business inquiries
Michelle Zimmerman
michelle@previvoredge.com
Media inquiries
Emily Hackel
emily@previvoredge.com