In most cases, biotech firms turn to venture capital, public stock offerings and traditional financing to fund their medical research efforts. However, in Massachusetts at least, biotechs are turning to nonprofit foundations to fund some of their research. For example, this week Epix Pharmaceuticals received about $38 million from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation to help it find new drugs to treat the condition, contingent on meeting some of the foundation's goals. In other examples, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation gave some of a recent $25 million grant round to three Boston-area biotech firms. And the Muscular Dystrophy Association has given $8.5 million to for-profits, with plans to give $1 million more to another Boston-area research house. Overall, disease-related foundations invested about $75 million in the biotech industry last year, according to industry publication CenterWatch Monthly.
To learn more about this funding approach:
- read this article [1] from The Boston Globe
- read this FierceBiotech piece [2]
Related Articles:
Epix Pharmaceuticals expands collaboration with Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Therapeutics. Release [3]
Foundation invests millions to find MS drug leads. Report [4]
Links:
[1] http://www.boston.com/business/healthcare/articles/2008/04/07/drug_makers_turning_to_nonprofits_for_cash/
[2] http://www.fiercebiotech.com/story/funds-from-non-profit-groups-flow-to-biotech-rd/2008-04-07
[3] http://www.fiercebiotech.com/press-releases/epix-pharmaceuticals-expands-collaboration-cystic-fibrosis-foundation-therapeutics
[4] http://www.fiercebioresearcher.com/story/foundation-invests-millions-to-find-ms-drug-leads/2008-04-01