Venture Philanthropy

Venture philanthropy is a neat new business model whereby charities and investors team up to raise money to fund such things as therapies for orphan diseases. Case in point: the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. CF affects only 30,000 people in the U.S., a population too small to get the attention of drug manufacturers. CF has taken the initiative to raise money to fund its own research and early clinical trials. This helps make the research less risky for biotech companies, which can then take up the mantle and fund the research and trials at a later stage. This strategy has worked: CF now has a pipeline of drugs and therapies that look very promising.

CF is a terrible disease that affects the lungs and digestive system. Those with CF used to die in childhood; now the life expectancy is 37 years. Although this signals progress, for my friend who is in her early 30s and has the disease, it is a frightening prospect. For her, a cure can't come a day too soon.

Information on CF can be found at http://www.cff.org/. If you are so moved, please make a donation. Thirty thousand people and their friends and family will be ever so grateful.


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I am watching the pilot episode of the new show, Damages. Hmmmm, the jury is out......