ECHO Spotlight Series: Revolutionizing Cardio-Oncology Care with Leynek Medical

Entrepreneurship for Cardiovascular Health Opportunities (ECHO) is a 12-month national training program supporting cardiovascular research commercialization through education, mentorship, networking, and funding. Led by a diverse team of experts, ECHO fosters successful startups in cardiovascular health, culminating in an annual pitch competition (ECHO PITCH) offering up to $250,000 in funding.

With the upcoming 2023-2024 ECHO cohort preparing to pitch this fall, we took the opportunity to sit down with some of the ventures involved in the program to learn more about them, their commercialization process, and how the ECHO program has helped their entrepreneurship journey so far. Today we’re speaking with William Jones, CEO and Co-Founder, and Thomas Fletcher, CTO and Co-Founder of Leynek Medical. Leynek Medical developed the ReneCare App, a tool designed to assist cancer patients in managing their symptoms and the cardiotoxicity that often accompanies their treatment, enabling better communication with their healthcare teams from home.

What was the inspiration behind creating Leynek Medical?

Leynek Medical was created in 2023 after seeing a family member experience the awful side effects that cancer and its treatment can cause. The standard of care to track symptoms was to have a nurse drive to the house, apply a few devices for vitals, and write the results in a notebook. It seemed to not only be inefficient, but after one visit where symptoms weren’t properly recognized, we realized the process could also be ineffective as well. Family caregivers wanted to help but didn’t know how and struggled to keep up with changing symptoms. It was at this point we realized there had to be a better way to keep track of everything.

Can you explain how the technology for the ReneCare App can be applied to help those currently experiencing cardio-oncology/cardiotoxicity from their treatments?

Certain chemotherapies and radiation can cause cardiotoxicity, a condition where there is damage to the heart muscle that impairs its function. Studies show approximately a quarter of cancer patients will develop cardiotoxicity, and it is thought to be underreported. The ReneCare app combines symptom assessment scales, mood tracking, and freeform journal entries to provide an easy means to collect, report, and share information on the patient’s journey through symptoms. ReneCare was developed with human-focused design that makes it easy to use by the patients it serves. Daily use of the app allows trends to be identified and communicated so patients can have a better overview of their health history. Artificial intelligence technology can be employed to automatically identify trends and correlations and is an invaluable tool, serving as an appointment co-pilot to capture notes and ensure questions get answered. For patients experiencing cardiotoxicity, the ReneCare app can help them pinpoint their symptom progression for discussions with their healthcare team and help to develop a treatment plan. 

What makes the ReneCare App distinct from other symptom tracking options currently available for patients?

Current symptom tracking options on the market are built on function-focused interfaces rather than human-focused interfaces. A never-ending series of checkboxes and customizations can make it overwhelming for the average patient, who is 65+, to accurately use an app to track their symptoms. ReneCare is built with human-focused user interfaces and has clean screens, dictation-based journaling, and uses an all-in-one familiar smartphone device that captures relevant vitals in one spot. In a nutshell, it’s easier for patients to use which results in better symptom tracking.

You’ve been a part of the ECHO program since the fall of 2023. What makes ECHO unique compared to other accelerators/programs available to health entrepreneurs? 

ECHO has been a fantastic experience that continues to elevate our company on a weekly basis. The year-long program is dedicated to providing fantastic learning opportunities from subject experts, other founders in the cohort, and founders at later stages through guest lectures. One of the largest differences we have experienced so far has been the specific lectures and insights on medical tech and life sciences, something other accelerators often don’t offer.

What has been the biggest benefit of being part of the ECHO program so far, and what are you looking forward to in the remaining half of the program?

ECHO has been instrumental in helping us form a strong understanding of the application of Clayton Christensen’s “Job to be Done” theory, which states that companies create products that consumers then “hire” to complete a job for them. This is especially true for the complex problems that exist in the medical field. We look forward to taking the first half of the program and applying it to our business strategy and execution going forward. The program has set us up for long-term success and we look forward to continuing our learning with ECHO now and beyond.

How does Leynek Medical plan to expand or evolve in the next five to ten years?

Leynek has patients using the app today and we’re in different stages of conversations with several hospitals on implementing the app with patient cohorts in research and real-world situations. In the next five years, we plan to continue building a presence in the US and Canada through hospital implementation, in addition to building clinical and economic evidence to establish the ReneCare app as the standard of care. The platform itself continues to evolve with regular updates, delivering improvements and features that come directly from patient and physician feedback.

ABOUT ECHO

ECHO is a specialized training program led by veteran entrepreneurs and consultants across a variety of sectors. Its mission is to:

• Provide entrepreneurship training, mentorship, partnership, and funding opportunities for innovators of cardiovascular technologies.
• Create more successful start-ups in the cardiovascular health sector.
• Accelerate the application of cardiovascular innovations and their transfer from bench to bedside.

ECHO is funded and organized by the Translational Biology and Engineering Program at the University of Toronto and the Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research, in partnership with the Health Innovation Hub (H2i). To learn more, please visit https://tedrogersresearch.ca/echo-pitch/