WECAN

What WECAN does

WECAN is a Dutch-registered non-profit foundation (Stichting WECAN, headquartered in Amsterdam) operating as the convening network for more than 20 pan-European cancer patient umbrella organisations whose membership collectively reaches thousands of cancer patient organisations across the WHO Europe region. Founded in 2015 as an informal network and formally incorporated in May 2025, WECAN's mission is to coordinate, train and amplify the European cancer patient advocacy community through collaborative projects, education, and stakeholder engagement.

The organisation's core product is the WECAN Academy, a learning management system (built on LearnWorlds) that delivers structured capacity-building across three knowledge pillars: Advocacy Tools & Skills, Healthcare Systems Policy & Access, and Research & Data. Academy programming includes the entry-level SmartStart program, the advanced MasterClass, the expert WECAN Science curriculum, the open-access Patient Experience Data (PED) course, Patients in Publications modules, and the Evidence-Based Advocacy (EBA) program. Research and policy outputs include the EuroACT clinical trial mapping initiative (developed with Syreon and cited by the OECD) and the CANCERSurvey project. Annual face-to-face Academy events rotate across European cities; the 2025 edition in Rome attracted 70+ advocates.

WECAN is funded primarily through pharmaceutical industry sponsorships and grants — 15+ pharma companies sponsored the 2025 Academy, with funders explicitly walled off from program content. All educational programming is provided free of charge to member organisations and individual patient advocates. The business model is therefore a sponsored non-profit: philanthropy and industry grants underwrite community-facing education, rather than fees or commercial revenue. The organisation is governed bottom-up by its member umbrella organisations, with a small staff (19 employees) coordinating programs, research, and EU-level policy advocacy including open letters to the European Parliament on health budget priorities.

Name

WECAN

Legal name

Stichting WECAN

Website

https://wecanadvocate.eu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

WECAN is a Dutch non-profit foundation serving as the network of 20+ pan-European cancer patient umbrella organisations. It delivers free advocacy training through the WECAN Academy, including SmartStart, MasterClass, and open-access online courses, funded by pharmaceutical industry sponsorships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Amsterdam

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Foundation funding and industry sponsorships: WECAN operates as a non-profit foundation supported by grants and sponsorships primarily from pharmaceutical companies. The organisation receives funding from multiple industry partners for its educational programs, training events, and research initiatives without these funders having a role in program development.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

WECAN operates a pan-European network of more than 20 cancer patient umbrella organizations and delivers free capacity-building education and advocacy training to cancer patient advocates through the WECAN Academy. Core deliverables include structured training programs (SmartStart, MasterClass, Evidence-Based Advocacy, Patients in Publications, WECAN Science), policy engagement support, and research initiatives such as EuroACT (European cancer clinical trial mapping) and CANCERSurvey (patient experience data).

Product overview

WECAN is a network of over 20 pan-European cancer patient umbrella organizations. The organization's core offerings center on capacity building for cancer patient advocates through WECAN Academy, its learning management system. The Academy provides educational programs across three pillars: Advocacy Tools & Skills (including SmartStart for beginners and MasterClass for leaders), Healthcare Systems Policy & Access, and Research & Data. Supporting offerings include Evidence-Based Advocacy training, the Patients in Publications course, and WECAN Science. Research initiatives include EuroACT (clinical trial mapping) and CANCERSurvey. The organization operates primarily as an educational and advocacy network rather than a technology product company.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• WECAN Academy The flagship online education platform of WECAN delivering free, structured training programs to cancer patient advocates across Europe through multiple course offerings.
• SmartStart Program Foundational training program within the WECAN Academy that introduces cancer patient advocates to the core concepts and skills of patient advocacy.
• MasterClass Program Advanced training program within the WECAN Academy designed for experienced cancer patient advocates seeking to deepen their advocacy expertise.
• Evidence-Based Advocacy (EBA) Training Training program within the WECAN Academy teaching cancer patient advocates how to interpret and apply scientific evidence in their advocacy activities.
• Patients in Publications Training Training program within the WECAN Academy focused on equipping patient advocates to contribute to and engage with the scientific publication process.
• WECAN Science Program Training program within the WECAN Academy focused on engaging cancer patient advocates with scientific research and clinical development processes.
• EuroACT Research Initiative WECAN research initiative that maps and tracks European cancer clinical trial activity to support patient advocate access to clinical trial transparency data.
• CANCERSurvey Research Initiative WECAN research initiative collecting and analyzing patient experience data to inform cancer patient advocacy and policy discussions across Europe.

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• European Patient Advocacy Institute (EPAI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe European Patient Advocacy Institute gUG hosts WECAN Academy on behalf of WECAN. EPAI administers funding for educational programs and training modules including the Patient Experience Data training program initiated in 2023.
• Envision The PatientcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWECAN collaborated with Envision The Patient (part of Envision Pharma Group) to develop four open-access online training modules on patient involvement in publications.
• SyreoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWECAN collaborated with Syreon to develop a novel methodology for the EuroACT research initiative on mapping clinical trials in cancer and hematology.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• European Cancer Organisation (ECCO): Broad pan-European multi-stakeholder cancer organisation convening clinicians, researchers, and patient groups; overlaps with WECAN on EU cancer policy but is a much larger, professionally staffed incumbent rather than a patient-led advocacy network.

Direct peers

• International Alliance of Patients' Organizations (IAPO): Global alliance of patient organisations across disease areas, focused on patient-centred healthcare, policy advocacy and capacity building. Comparable membership-network model, advocacy training and pharma-sponsored operating model to WECAN.
• EURORDIS - Rare Diseases Europe: Umbrella non-profit representing over 1,000 rare disease patient organisations across Europe, with similar capacity-building, training, EU policy advocacy, and pharma-sponsored funding model applied across rare-disease communities rather than cancer specifically.
• Lymphoma Coalition: Global network of lymphoma patient organisations running advocacy training, patient surveys and research collaborations with pharma partners. Comparable network-effect model, sponsor-funded research, and patient-advocate education focus.
• Myeloma Patients Europe (MPE): Pan-European network of myeloma patient organisations that delivers capacity building, education, and policy advocacy for a specific haematological cancer. Comparable network and training model to WECAN's disease-specific umbrella organisations.
• European Patients' Academy on Therapeutic Innovation (EUPATI): Patient-led education initiative training patient advocates across Europe on medicines R&D, regulatory processes, and health technology assessment. Highly comparable to WECAN Academy in mission, audience, curriculum depth, and pharma-funded non-profit structure.
• European Patient Forum (EPF): Cross-disease umbrella of European patient organisations, running training programs and policy advocacy with EU institutions. Highly comparable governance structure, EU policy engagement and member-network operating model, with WECAN's cancer focus being the key difference.

Others

• European Hematology Association (EHA): Professional society for haematologists running education, congresses and policy advocacy across Europe. Not a direct competitor — adjacent enabling actor relevant because WECAN's haematology-oncology curriculum and EuroACT research intersect with EHA's clinical and policy domain.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/wecanadvocate

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 WECAN