The article, “A venture-capital cure for disease?,” highlights the Foundation's pivotal role in developing breakthrough drugs to treat CF, including the newly approved Orkambi and Kalydeco, the first ever drug to target the underlying cause of the disease.
In the story, the Foundation's president and CEO, Robert J. Beall, Ph.D., explains how venture philanthropy has changed the landscape for CF research and “allowed the foundation to 'supercharge' the search for its ultimate goal; a cure for all patients.”
Emily Schaller, who has been taking Kalydeco since its approval, credits the drug as a life-changer saying “I'm alive, and I've never been more alive because of this drug. I'm now starting a retirement fund, which is something I never thought that I would need.”
The piece also describes how the Foundation's venture model has inspired other rare disease foundations, from the Michael J. Fox Foundation to the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, to adopt similar strategies to support the development of new treatments.
Read the story here.