Cure SMA has become a participating organization of The Research Acceleration and Innovation Network (TRAIN), a program of FasterCures, bringing the total number of venture philanthropies in TRAIN to 80.
FasterCures established TRAIN in 2005 to connect disruptive innovators in the disease research space with the vital resources, tools and relationships to catalyze development of new therapies and cures. Through the network, innovation in one disease area is translated to another in order to achieve treatment breakthroughs for all.
“We’re excited to join with so many organizations doing important, cutting-edge work in disease research,” said Kenneth Hobby, president of Cure SMA. “We look forward both to learning from our partners in TRAIN, and to sharing our expertise with them wherever we can. We believe that collaboration is one of the key ways that we can make progress toward our goal of a treatment and cure for SMA, and joining TRAIN reflects that commitment.”
TRAIN organizations—such as the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF), Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society—share a singular focus on, and a significant stake in, getting promising therapies from the laboratory bench to the patient’s bedside as rapidly as possible. CFF’s partnership with Vertex Pharmaceuticals, which produced the game-changing drug Kalydeco, has captured the public’s attention in recent years. Many other foundations are pursuing similar pathways to patient benefit, including CureDuchenne and Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy, which are also investing in companies with new therapeutics, and the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation, which is paving the way to precision medicine for the patients it represents.
Collectively, TRAIN participants fund nearly $1 billion in medical research annually, and more than three-quarters of them are partnering with biopharmaceutical companies to advance their collective goal of getting new and better treatments to patients faster. While the organizations that participate in TRAIN are individually unique, they all demonstrate an ongoing commitment to accountability, collaboration, research effectiveness, resource building and patient centeredness.
“TRAIN’s patient-driven foundations are applying entrepreneurial philanthropy to de-risk translation and commercialization of research in their respective disease areas, and are responsible for some of the most transformative ideas in R&D,” said Kristin Schneeman, program director at FasterCures.