Milestone-based venture philanthropy with royalties recycled into the pipeline
Cancer charities would fund companies to hit specific development milestones, as the cystic fibrosis charity did to create Kalydeco, and take a royalty they reinvest in the next drug.
Disease foundations move from grant-giving to milestone-based development contracts with biotech and pharma: payments are released on defined preclinical and clinical milestones for an agreed indication (for example a rare sarcoma, a paediatric brain tumour, cachexia), the foundation receives royalties or equity, and returns are recycled. The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation's investment in Vertex produced ivacaftor and returned more than $3 billion through a royalty sale; the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Therapy Acceleration Program and the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation have applied versions of this in blood cancers. Solid tumours and paediatric cancers have few such programmes at scale.
- The valley of death between lab and product · Most academic discoveries die before anyone tests them in people because nobody funds the middle step.
- Rare and paediatric cancers without markets · Taken together rare cancers are a fifth of all cancers, but each one alone is too small for a company to invest in.
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not linked directly; found by shared links- IdeaPublic co-investment in first-in-class phase 1 with a royalty return
Shares A diversified royalty pool that finances academic phase 1 trials across fifty assets, A fast IND-enabling fund that pays for toxicology and manufacturing in eight weeks, The valley of death between lab and product.
- IdeaEscrow a share of adult revenue until the paediatric study is done
Shares Advance market commitments for paediatric and rare cancer drugs, Neuroblastoma (paediatric), Rare and paediatric cancers without markets, Sarcomas (soft tissue, bone, GIST).
- IdeaPay a prize for rare cancer drugs instead of hoping for a market
Shares Neuroblastoma (paediatric), Rare and paediatric cancers without markets, Sarcomas (soft tissue, bone, GIST).
- IdeaOpen-source drug discovery to clinical proof of concept for neglected cancers
Shares Neuroblastoma (paediatric), Rare and paediatric cancers without markets, Sarcomas (soft tissue, bone, GIST).
- IdeaAn international consortium pooling the outcome of every treated child with cancer
Shares Neuroblastoma (paediatric), Rare and paediatric cancers without markets, Sarcomas (soft tissue, bone, GIST).
- IdeaAutomatic offer of shelved cancer assets to non-profits after two years
Shares A non-profit pharmaceutical company for the cancers markets ignore, The valley of death between lab and product, Rare and paediatric cancers without markets.
- IdeaAn open organoid bank for cancers too rare to have models
Shares Neuroblastoma (paediatric), Rare and paediatric cancers without markets, Sarcomas (soft tissue, bone, GIST).
- IdeaA public registry of stalled academic assets and shelved company compounds
Shares A non-profit pharmaceutical company for the cancers markets ignore, The valley of death between lab and product.