What Deadliest Cancers Coalition does

The Deadliest Cancers Coalition is a U.S.-based, non-profit policy advocacy coalition founded in 2008 by the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network together with other national patient advocacy organizations and professional societies. It is a collaboration of non-profit organizations focused on addressing policy issues related to cancers with five-year relative survival rates below 50 percent — specifically pancreatic, liver, lung, esophageal, stomach, brain, and ovarian cancers. The coalition functions as a unified advocacy voice rather than a product or technology company, and does not generate revenue from product or service sales; its activities are funded through member organization contributions and supported by allied organizations.

The coalition's core offerings are advocacy resources and convening activities rather than technology products. These include legislative advocacy letters and written testimony submitted to Senate and House LHHS Appropriations Subcommittees, fact sheets and statistical resources on deadliest cancers and the Recalcitrant Cancer Research Act, and educational webinars that help researchers navigate Department of Defense (DoD) Congressional Directed Medical Research Program (CDMRP) grant opportunities, including the Peer-Reviewed Cancer Research Program (PRCRP). Distribution channels are policy-focused: direct engagement with Congress, federal research agencies such as the National Cancer Institute (NCI), and the broader cancer research community. The coalition's website is hosted on Squarespace, and there is no proprietary technology platform, software product, API, or AI component associated with the organization.

The coalition's go-to-market is community-led advocacy. Its member organizations include disease-specific advocacy groups such as the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, National Pancreas Foundation, GO2 for Lung Cancer, National Brain Tumor Society, Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance, Debbie's Dream Foundation, Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation, Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation, Esophageal Cancer Action Network, Blue Faery, Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization, the Hepatitis B Foundation, the Digestive Cancer National Foundation, and the American Gastroenterological Association. PhRMA is listed as a corporate partner. Governance is exercised through member organizations, with Megan Gordon Don — Director of Government Affairs and Advocacy at the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network — serving as Chair. The coalition's most consequential output to date was its advocacy contributing to passage of the Recalcitrant Cancer Research Act of 2012, signed into law on January 2, 2013, which required the NCI to develop scientific frameworks for the deadliest cancers starting with pancreatic cancer (released March 2014) and lung cancer (released June 2014).

Name

Deadliest Cancers Coalition

Legal name

Deadliest Cancers Coalition

Website

https://deadliestcancers.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Short description

The Deadliest Cancers Coalition is a U.S. non-profit policy advocacy coalition founded in 2008, uniting national patient advocacy organizations to lobby for increased federal research funding for cancers with five-year survival rates below 50 percent.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Health Policy Advocacy

NAICS

Voluntary Health Organizations (813212), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Business Associations (81391)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Health, Prevention & Health Education (BPAGACAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Non-Communicable Disease Prevention & Chronic Disease Programs (BPAIAJAI), Chronic Disease & Health Promotion Program Funding (HLAJALAJ)

Keywords

• Cancer policy advocacy
• Deadliest cancers research
• Cancer research funding
• Patient advocacy coalition
• Federal research funding

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Coalition Membership and Advocacy: The Deadliest Cancers Coalition operates as a collaboration of national non-profit organizations. As a policy advocacy coalition, it does not generate revenue from product or service sales. Activities are funded through member organization contributions and supported by allied organizations.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

The Deadliest Cancers Coalition is a national non-profit policy advocacy coalition that coordinates member organizations to advance federal funding and research priorities for cancers with five-year relative survival rates below 50 percent. Its deliverables include policy advocacy (letters to Congress, testimony, legislative tracking), educational resources (fact sheets, statistics), and researcher-oriented webinars on federal grant programs such as the DoD CDMRP.

Product overview

The Deadliest Cancers Coalition is a single advocacy organization, not a technology product platform. It does not offer software products, modules, or integrated technology solutions. Instead, it operates as a policy advocacy coalition that provides educational resources (fact sheets, statistics), facilitates legislative advocacy (letters to Congress), offers research funding information (webinars on DoD CDMRP grants), and maintains a network of member organizations. All activities focus on policy and advocacy rather than technology products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Deadliest Cancers Coalition Advocacy Program Coalition-based policy advocacy program convening national non-profit organizations to advance federal research funding and policy priorities for the deadliest cancers, including pancreatic, liver, lung, esophageal, stomach, brain, and ovarian cancers.

Quantifiable outcome

• Recalcitrant Cancer Research Act signed into law on January 2, 2013, requiring NCI to develop scientific frameworks for deadliest cancers starting with pancreatic and lung cancer.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

19 partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• American Gastroenterological Association (AGA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember organization of the Deadliest Cancers Coalition, focusing on digestive cancer advocacy within the coalition's policy efforts.
• Asbestos Disease Awareness OrganizationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember organization of the Deadliest Cancers Coalition, contributing to the coalition's advocacy for deadliest cancer research policy.
• Blue Faery: The Adrienne Wilson Liver Cancer AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember organization of the Deadliest Cancers Coalition focused on liver cancer advocacy.
• Cholangiocarcinoma FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember organization of the Deadliest Cancers Coalition focused on bile duct cancer advocacy.
• Debbie's Dream Foundation: Curing Stomach CancercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember organization of the Deadliest Cancers Coalition focused on stomach cancer advocacy.
• Digestive Cancer National Foundation (DDNC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember organization of the Deadliest Cancers Coalition focused on digestive cancer advocacy.
• Esophageal Cancer Action Network (ECAN)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember organization of the Deadliest Cancers Coalition focused on esophageal cancer advocacy.
• GO2 for Lung CancercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember organization of the Deadliest Cancers Coalition focused on lung cancer advocacy. Lung cancer has a 19% five-year survival rate.
• Hope for Stomach CancercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember organization of the Deadliest Cancers Coalition focused on stomach cancer advocacy. Stomach cancer has a 31% five-year survival rate.
• Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation (MARF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember organization of the Deadliest Cancers Coalition focused on mesothelioma advocacy.
• National Brain Tumor Society (NBTS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember organization of the Deadliest Cancers Coalition focused on brain cancer advocacy. Brain cancer has a 35% five-year survival rate.
• National Pancreas Foundation (NPF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember organization of the Deadliest Cancers Coalition focused on pancreatic cancer advocacy. Pancreatic cancer has only a 9% five-year survival rate.
• Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance (OCRA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember organization of the Deadliest Cancers Coalition focused on ovarian cancer advocacy. Ovarian cancer has a 46% five-year survival rate.
• Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounding member organization of the Deadliest Cancers Coalition, established in 2008 along with other patient advocacy organizations. Pancreatic cancer has only a 9% five-year survival rate.
• Department of Defense Congressional Directed Medical Research Program (CDMRP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFederal research funding program with multiple cancer research grant opportunities including Peer-Reviewed Cancer Research Program (PRCRP), Ovarian Cancer Research Program (OCRP), Rare Cancer Research Program (RCRP), and Pancreatic Cancer Research Program (PACRP). The coalition sponsors webinars to help researchers apply for these grants.
• American Gastroenterological AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a sponsor for the CDMRP webinar along with the Deadliest Cancers Coalition, Defense Health Research Consortium, and Shepherd Foundation.
• Defense Health Research ConsortiumsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a sponsor for the CDMRP webinar along with the Deadliest Cancers Coalition, American Gastroenterological Association, and Shepherd Foundation.
• Shepherd FoundationsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a sponsor for the CDMRP webinar along with the Deadliest Cancers Coalition, American Gastroenterological Association, and Defense Health Research Consortium.
• National Cancer Institute (NCI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFederal cancer research agency required by the Recalcitrant Cancer Research Act of 2012 to develop scientific frameworks for the deadliest cancers, starting with pancreatic and lung cancers. NCI Director has discretion to add other cancers to this framework.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• One Voice Against Cancer (OVAC): OVAC is a coalition of cancer-related nonprofits that conducts policy advocacy for cancer research funding, mirroring the Deadliest Cancers Coalition's model of unified advocacy on federal appropriations.
• Coalition for Health Funding: Coalition for Health Funding is a non-profit coalition that advocates for robust federal investments in public health and health research, including NIH and CDC, structurally similar to the Deadliest Cancers Coalition.
• Research!America: Research!America is a non-profit alliance advocating for increased federal funding for medical and health research, including NIH and NCI—an activity directly parallel to the Deadliest Cancers Coalition's core mission.
• National Health Council: National Health Council is a coalition of patient advocacy organizations that engages in policy advocacy on chronic disease research funding and access—closely analogous to the coalition's structure.
• Friends of Cancer Research: Friends of Cancer Research is a policy and advocacy organization focused on accelerating cancer research and drug development, engaging directly with Congress, FDA, and NCI on cancer research priorities.
• National Patient Advocate Foundation: National Patient Advocate Foundation advocates on federal health policy for patients with chronic and life-threatening illnesses, including cancer, using a coalition-style model of patient organization engagement.
• C-Change (Conquering Cancer): C-Change is a coalition of cancer-focused organizations convened to align public and private sector efforts against cancer, operating via shared advocacy and research-funding priorities.

Emerging players

• Prevent Cancer Foundation: Prevent Cancer Foundation is a non-profit that funds cancer research and conducts advocacy on federal research appropriations; it operates in adjacent cancer-policy space with overlapping federal funding advocacy goals.
• Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN): PanCAN is the founding member of the Deadliest Cancers Coalition and a separately operating cancer-specific advocacy organization with comparable government affairs and research funding priorities.

Broad incumbents

• American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN): ACS CAN is the advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society, lobbying on federal and state cancer policy including research funding, access to care, and prevention—overlapping with the Deadliest Cancers Coalition's research funding advocacy.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Deadliest Cancers Coalition