Give To Cure has launched a nonprofit that accelerates drug development through “cure-funding,” or funding promising clinical trials directly and transparently by harnessing the power of the crowd.
“We’ve created a science-driven community that realizes the power of the crowd to find cures faster. Our goal is to bridge the translational valley of death in the drug development process, and fund promising treatments that are ready to be tested in patients tomorrow,” said Lou Reese, co-founder of Give To Cure. “One hundred percent of the funds raised by the public will be used to ‘cure-fund’ clinical trial research.”
Reese, Mei Mei Hu, Rafi Gidron and Adam Grossman started Give To Cure. Their vision is to create a platform committed to driving research that focuses exclusively on clinical trials, the first opportunity for treatments to reach humans. Clinical trials have a higher probability of success and a shorter potential lead-time to market, as compared to earlier stage research. Many of the trials are driven by independent biotechs, academics and research institutions. There are many promising drug studies approved for human trials, but all too often stalled due to lack of funding.
Earlier this year, Give To Cure launched a competition for eligible FDA or FDA-equivalent approved clinical trials, ready to enroll patients within six months of funding. The competition attracted nearly 40 applications from more than a dozen countries and 13 U.S. states, and became one of the most successful RFPs conducted in the Alzheimer’s space. Give To Cure assembled an independent scientific advisory board (SAB) comprised of leading thinkers, researchers and doctors working in the Alzheimer’s field to evaluate the applications. Unlike traditional funding sources that must consider business factors such as risk, diversification and commercial marketability, the SAB was freely guided by science over profit.
Give To Cure has chosen and prioritized three Alzheimer’s trials and is planning to crowdfund about $10 million to support the research. Once the first campaign is concluded, Give To Cure will utilize its platform to expand its scope including other major diseases.
