Article preview from "The Pink Sheet" DAILY May 26, 2009
ATLANTA - Patient power is driving disease foundations to invest more money in turning discoveries into therapies at a time when biotechs sorely need the cash. In turn, the struggling companies are getting more than financial support in the bargain. Read on...
Article preview from "The Pink Sheet" DAILY May 26, 2009
But while the infusions are commonly nondilutive, venture philanthropy is far from a handout, according to panelists at a May 20 breakout session at the BIO annual meeting in Atlanta.
The session was packed with interested biotech execs and representatives from university tech transfer offices looking for ways to fund spinoffs. Eight years ago, the same venture philanthropy panel drew an audience of three, and two of them were BIO employees, Robert J. Beall, chief executive officer of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, quipped.
CFF is the elder statesman among venture philanthropy groups thanks to the early identification, in 1989, of the single gene associated with cystic fibrosis. Historically, most disease foundations have invested heavily on the basic research side and only recently began inching into development, but CFF began seeking industry partners in 1998.
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