Every year, the number of people suffering from cancer continues to increase. The year 2023 alone will record nearly 430,000 new cases in France. “In 30 years the number of people suffering from cancer has doubled and unfortunately, this number will continue to increase”explains Marielle Jaillet, co-founder of the medtech Continuum+.
Fortunately, constant progress in science and technology now provide access to new anti-cancer treatments and increasingly personalized care. This development favors home care, in particular thanks to the development of oral chemotherapies.
However, this domiciliation of care is not without its problems: patients often feel isolated, confronted with illness and adverse effects. This isolation can lead to a deterioration in quality of life and reduced adherence to treatment, thus compromising their chances of recovery.
Co-founded in 2017 by Guillaume Gaud, Marielle Jaillet and 2 other co-founders, Continuum+ aims to involve city health professionals (liberal nurses, pharmacists and doctors) in order to provide patients with human support. and digital.
Human combined with the power of digital
To do this, Continuum+ has developed the AKO@dom solution. “Our flagship solution is designed to meet the needs of the most vulnerable, isolated or digitally uncomfortable patients. Unlike our competitors, such as Resilience and Cureety, which offer digital solutions limited to online exchanges with the patient, Continuum+ integrates an essential dimension, namely the human dimension, in the monitoring of anticancer treatments at home. The local liberal nurse plays a central role in this journey. Specifically trained, she intervenes at home to take the patient’s vital signs, ensure that the treatment is well tolerated, prevent the worsening of adverse events and enter all clinical data into a digital platform. Thanks to this tool, the doctor oncologist can consult this information in real time and make possible decisions, explains Marielle Jaillet before continuing, the data entered into the platform makes it possible to classify situations into risk levels, thus generating graduated alerts for the attention of the oncologist”.
Regular monitoring of the patient, provided by the community nurse or the community pharmacist, not only makes it possible to limit high-level alerts, to anticipate risky situations but also to break the isolation of the patient, to reassure and inform him.
Autonomous patients, less vulnerable and comfortable with digital tools, can use the digital application on their smartphone. This asks them to regularly answer health questionnaires and sends the results to the oncologist who can follow the patient between two consultations.
Continuum+ has co-developed its solutions with patient associations, oncology experts and city professionals.
Continuum+ solutions are offered to oncologists who can include all their patients regardless of their individual situation (autonomous or not).
A unit of support nurses at Continuum+ then contacts each patient and local healthcare professionals to coordinate hospital-city-home support and ensure proper handling of the digital platform.
Awarded by PECAN
Initially financed with own funds, then supported by the impact investment fund Invest&+ and Business Angels, Continuum+ is based on a mixed “public-private” economic model.
Thanks to a PECAN (Digital Early Care), the company benefits from reimbursement for its Continuum+ Connect digital medical device by health insurance for remote medical monitoring. A key step which marks the maturity of Continuum+ and opens new perspectives for the monitoring of cancer patients.
Recognized for their effectiveness, Continuum+ solutions have to date been adopted by more than 11,000 healthcare professionals and have benefited more than 6,000 patients.
A solid and sustainable economic model
With now the assurance of a recurring revenue stream, Continuum + is strengthening the sustainability of its economic model. In 2023 the startup generated 1.1 million euros in turnover, it is now aiming for profitability in 2026 with 5 million euros in turnover.
To continue its growth, Continuum+ is now raising funds. The startup once again benefits from the support of Investir&+ and has launched a crowdfunding campaign on Sowefund. As the co-founder explains: “Everyone is affected by cancer. By opening our capital from €1,000, we allow everyone to contribute to better patient care.” Thanks to the status of Young Innovative Company (JEI), individuals benefit from a 30% tax reduction on their investment.
“The funds raised will make it possible to improve our platform, support more patients and strengthen our sales team. The funds will also make it possible to create a data science center, made up of data specialists, to contribute to the advancement of oncology research”details Marielle Jaillet.
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