ICAN

What ICAN does

ICAN (International Cancer Advocacy Network) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit patient advocacy and research advocacy organization founded in 1996 and headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, with a secondary office in Scottsdale. The organization serves primarily Stage IV cancer patients and those with rare molecular subtypes—most notably EGFR and HER2 exon 20 insertion mutations—delivering personalized case navigation, clinical-trial advocacy, physician referrals, and compassionate-use/Single Patient IND assistance. ICAN operates with a small paid staff of 1–10 professional advocates supported by a global volunteer network of 1,100+ volunteers spanning 17 time zones and 30+ areas, delivering services around the clock at no cost to patients.

ICAN's core service portfolio includes the Remission Coach® clinical-trial navigation program, Personalized Medicine Cancer Case Navigation Programs, over 200 Named Patient Programs covering specific cancer types, and specialized sub-brands such as the Exon 20 Group and PD-L1 Amplifieds. Service delivery is structured through multidisciplinary professional councils: the Biomarkers Council (global molecular tumor advisory board, founded 2011), the International Physicians Advisory Council (covering medical, surgical, radiation, interventional radiology, and pathology sub-disciplines), and the Scientific Advisory Council (chaired by ASU Regents Professor G. Robert Pettit, PhD). The organization holds no technology platform, mobile app, or public API; all advocacy is human-powered, with ICAN's primary intellectual asset being its curated library of cancer subtypes, biomarkers, and drug pipeline intelligence.

ICAN is funded entirely through charitable revenue streams: spontaneous grateful-patient donations, memorial and tribute funds, Named Program contributions, medical education grants from pharmaceutical and biotech companies, special-event proceeds (including the Annual ICAN Golf Invitational, Fistbump Fundraiser, and cultural events such as Tango and Salon Concerts), and a planned giving program. The organization maintains a Charity Navigator four-star rating, GuideStar Platinum Seal of Transparency, and 2025 GreatNonprofits Top-Rated designation, and holds formal alliances with the National Cancer Institute, ASCO, BIO, the Personalized Medicine Coalition, the Alliance for Safe Biologic Medicines, and CURE Magazine. Operating geographies span the US plus patients served in over 50 countries across Latin America, Europe, Africa, and Asia.

Name

ICAN

Legal name

International Cancer Advocacy Network

Website

https://askican.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

ICAN is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1996 that provides personalized cancer case navigation, clinical trial advocacy, and physician referrals to Stage IV and rare-mutation cancer patients, delivered through a small paid staff and 1,100+ global volunteers across 50+ countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Phoenix

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations from grateful patients and families: Spontaneous donations from patients and families who have benefited from ICAN's services
2. Memorial and tribute funds: Memorial funds and tribute funds established by patients and families in honor of loved ones
3. Named Programs: Named Patient Programs established by patients and their families with specific cancer types or advocacy focus areas
4. Medical education grants: Grants from pharmaceutical and biotech companies for medical education purposes
5. Special event proceeds: Revenue from events such as the Annual ICAN Golf Invitational and other fundraising events
6. Planned giving program: Bequests in wills or estate plans, charitable remainder trusts, charitable lead annuity trusts, charitable gift annuities, life insurance, life estates, and pooled income fund

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

ICAN is a 501(c)(3) patient advocacy organization that delivers free, human-powered Personalized Medicine Cancer Case Navigation Programs for cancer patients and their families. Services include one-on-one advocacy, clinical trial navigation, drug discovery advocacy, and over 200 Named Patient Programs covering specific cancer subtypes, delivered by a small staff of professional advocates and 1,100+ volunteers across 17 time zones.

Product overview

ICAN (International Cancer Advocacy Network) is a 501(c)(3) patient advocacy organization offering a comprehensive suite of human-powered cancer patient advocacy services. The core offerings include the Remission Coach® program for clinical trial navigation, Personalized Medicine Cancer Case Navigation Programs, and over 200 Named Patient Programs covering specific cancer types. Specialized sub-brands include the Exon 20 Group (for EGFR/HER2 exon 20 mutations) and PD-L1 Amplifieds. The organization operates through multidisciplinary professional councils including the Biomarkers Council (molecular tumor advisory board), International Physicians Advisory Council (multiple oncology sub-councils), and Scientific Advisory Council (drug discovery). Services are augmented by Grassroots Advocacy Programs and the Hispanic and Ibero-American Communities Council providing bilingual support. ICAN does not offer a technology platform or software product—all services are delivered through professional staff, volunteer networks, and clinical/scientific advisory councils.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Remission Coach® A patient empowerment and tracking tool that helps cancer patients navigate their treatment journey, analyze clinical trial options, and understand the nature and purpose of clinical trials.
• Named Patient Programs

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• National Cancer Institute (NCI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerICAN works closely with NCI on anticancer drug discovery efforts and has historical involvement in safeguarding NCI laboratory focused on anticancer drug discovery in 2000.
• American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerICAN's CEO is an Affiliate Member of ASCO, providing connection to the oncology professional community and clinical oncology standards.
• CURE MagazinecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerICAN is grateful for partnership with CURE magazine providing patients and caregivers with Cancer Updates, Research, and Education content.
• Alliance for a Stronger FDAminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerICAN participates in coalition work to strengthen FDA regulatory functions affecting patient access to novel therapeutics.
• Rally For Medical ResearchminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition partner for medical research advocacy efforts.
• Alliance for Safe Biologic MedicinesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerICAN actively advocates for patient protections around biosimilars prescriber communication, leading to patient protections passing in 49 states by 2019.
• Personalized Medicine CoalitionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in advancing personalized medicine and molecular diagnostic testing policies.
• Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorks with BIO on principles of prescriber communication regarding biosimilars and industry advocacy.
• Oncology Nursing Society (ONS)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProfessional oncology nursing organization partnership for patient care advocacy.
• INCART (National Institute of Cancer, Dominican Republic)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerICAN Hispanic and Ibero-American Council President visited INCART in January 2020 to establish collaboration with Dominican cancer experts. Discussed areas of collaboration for rare and complex diseases.
• Thomas Jefferson UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in research study seeking Hispanic women diagnosed with breast cancer for a new research study.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• National Patient Advocate Foundation: Independent patient advocacy nonprofit delivering case-management and policy advocacy for patients with chronic and life-threatening illnesses. Closely comparable mission and operating model to ICAN's independent advocacy positioning.
• Cancer Support Community: National nonprofit providing social and emotional support, navigation, and educational services for cancer patients and caregivers. Operates a comparable patient-services delivery model at greater scale.
• LUNGevity Foundation: The largest lung-cancer-focused patient advocacy nonprofit in the US, investing in research and providing patient support services. Directly competes with ICAN's Exon 20 / NSCLC patient-navigation work for lung cancer patients and donors.
• Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN): Disease-specific cancer patient advocacy nonprofit combining research funding, patient services, and policy advocacy. Mirrors ICAN's vertical-by-cancer-type model and operates with similar one-on-one patient services.
• GO2 Foundation for Lung Cancer: Patient-focused lung cancer organization formed from the merger of the Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation and Lung Cancer Alliance. Directly comparable as a lung-cancer-specific advocacy organization competing for similar patient and donor pools.
• Patient Advocate Foundation: National nonprofit providing case-management services to patients with chronic, life-threatening, and debilitating illnesses. Highly comparable to ICAN's independent, no-conflict advocacy delivery model.

Emerging players

• Stand Up To Cancer: Charitable program accelerating cancer research through collaborative funding. Comparable to ICAN's drug-discovery and research-advocacy programming, raising dollars from a similar grateful-patient donor base.
• Cancer Research Institute: Nonprofit focused on immunotherapy research funding and patient education. Overlaps with ICAN's research-advocacy pillar and biomarker/personalized-medicine orientation.

Broad incumbents

• American Cancer Society: The largest US cancer-focused nonprofit, providing patient navigation, research funding, and advocacy across all cancer types. Operates at vastly greater scale than ICAN but competes for the same donor and policy-advocacy mindshare.
• National Cancer Institute: The US federal government's principal agency for cancer research and training. ICAN partners with NCI on drug discovery efforts and grassroots policy, occupying an adjacent (not competitive) role as a patient-advocacy counterpart.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/WarOnCancer
• Facebookfacebook.com/askican
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/international-cancer-advocacy-network-ican-

Compliance6 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ICAN