Charities vital to drug development
Cystic fibrosis experts discuss revolutionary approaches to funding research at Trust’s House of Lords event.
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Dr Preston Campbell, Dr Bill Skach and Ed Owen at the House of Lords.
The US-based Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s ground-breaking drug development programme, that has made ivacaftor (Kalydeco) and other transformational therapies for people with cystic fibrosis a reality, was discussed at a House of Lords event hosted by the Cystic Fibrosis Trust and the Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC).
Dr Preston Campbell and Dr Bill Skach, leading figures in the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, shared the foundation’s venture philanthropy model and explained how it has been able to seed-fund research into new drugs including ivacaftor.
“We are delighted to have Dr Campbell and Dr Skach visiting us at the Trust and we look forward to continuing our collaboration in the fight against cystic fibrosis on both sides of the Atlantic,” Ed Owen, Chief Executive of the Trust said.
“We are working closely with the CFF to build on the remarkable success that we, in the cystic fibrosis community, have been a part of over the past 20 years.”
The Trust’s Director of Research & Clinical Care, Janet Allen, said the event illustrated what the power of collaboration can do for the worldwide cystic fibrosis community.
“Venture philanthropy combines the best innovation of science with the powerhouses of industry and the foundation of the cystic fibrosis community to deliver cutting edge technology to aid us in our fight.
“Collaboration is at the heart of the Trust’s research strategy and we are committed to funding the best science and the greatest innovation wherever we can.”
Published on 17 June 2015