Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation

The Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF) is a charitable organization dedicated to multiple myeloma, an incurable blood cancer. The MMRF runs as if it were a for-profit business, expecting high returns from the money the organization raises from donors.[1]

History

MMRF was founded in 1998 by twin sisters Kathy Giusti and Karen Andrews, following Kathy's diagnosis with multiple myeloma. Giusti, a pharmaceutical company executive and Harvard Business School Alum, wanted to encourage researchers to develop treatments for multiple myeloma by using business models rather than academic models of drug development. [1]

About The MMRF

MMRF is a private funder of multiple myeloma research, having raised over $120 million since its inception to contribute funding to more than 120 laboratories worldwide.[2] MMRF funding contributes to diverse research strategies to yield long-, mid-, and short-term results in an effort to deliver better treatments to patients faster: basic science programs to better understand the disease and identify new druggable targets through genomics and proteomics research; validation programs to prioritize new compounds and combinations based on key targets; and clinical trials conducted at a number of myeloma centers.

In 2009, the MMRF funded research into 30 compounds at the pre-clinical stage.[3] By 2013 it had raised more than $250 million and its work has helped gain approval of six new drugs to treat the disease.[4]

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 Groopman, Jerome (January 28, 2008). "Buying a Cure.(Kathy Giusti's Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation)". The New Yorker. Retrieved 16 December 2009.
  2. ↑ "Harvard Business School Awards MMRF Founder, CEO with Alumni Achievement Award". Reuters (Business wire). 2009-10-22. Retrieved 16 December 2009.
  3. ↑ Duxbury, Sarah (December 8, 2006). "Foundations move in where VCs fear to tread". San Francisco Business Times. Retrieved 16 December 2009.
  4. ↑ "A Mission with Precision", Forbes Magazine, December 3, 2013

External links

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