Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation
Encyclopedia
Multiple myeloma
Multiple myeloma , also known as plasma cell myeloma or Kahler's disease , is a cancer of plasma cells, a type of white blood cell normally responsible for the production of antibodies...
, an incurable but treatable blood cancer, which afflicts over fifty thousand Americans alone. Most medical charities focus on increasing public awareness and on raising money to distribute to researchers, in the hope that some of the work will lead to a new drug or a cure; but the MMRF runs as if it were a for-profit business, expecting high returns from the money the organization raises from donors.
History
MMRF was founded in 1998 by twin sisters Kathy GiustiKathy Giusti
Kathy Giusti is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation and the Multiple Myeloma Research Consortium . In 1998, following her diagnosis with multiple myeloma, Giusti founded the MMRF to fund innovative myeloma research and drug discovery...
and Karen Andrews, following Kathy's diagnosis with multiple myeloma. Giusti, a pharmaceutical company executive and Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School is the graduate business school of Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts, United States and is widely recognized as one of the top business schools in the world. The school offers the world's largest full-time MBA program, doctoral programs, and many executive...
Alum, wanted to encourage researchers to develop treatments for multiple myeloma by using business models rather than academic models of drug development
Drug development
Drug development is a blanket term used to define the process of bringing a new drug to the market once a lead compound has been identified through the process of drug discovery...
.
About The MMRF
Although some academic scientists think it's unrealistic for patients to think that they can "buy a cure," the MMRF has helped finance eight drugs now in Phase II trials, developed a tissue bank with 1,400 bone marrow samples, and raised $92.4 million since 1988.MMRF is the number-one private funder of multiple myeloma research, having raised over $120 million since its inception to fund more than 120 laboratories worldwide. MMRF has developed a diverse research “portfolio” of programs to yield long-, mid-, and short-term returns on the MMRF’s research investment and deliver better treatments to patients faster: basic science programs to better understand the disease and identify new druggable targets through genomics and proteomics research; validation programs to prioritize new compounds and combinations based on key targets; and a network of leading myeloma centers who collaborate to conduct clinical trial
Clinical trial
Clinical trials are a set of procedures in medical research and drug development that are conducted to allow safety and efficacy data to be collected for health interventions...
s to accelerate the development of novel treatments.
The work of the MMRF contributed to the FDA approval of four drugs for multiple myeloma. Introduction of these treatments has helped increased life expectancy
Life expectancy
Life expectancy is the expected number of years of life remaining at a given age. It is denoted by ex, which means the average number of subsequent years of life for someone now aged x, according to a particular mortality experience...
in some patients from four years to nearly seven years and, because of their success in myeloma, these same drugs are now being explored as potential treatments for more than 20 other cancers and diseases. The MMRF is funding research into 30 compounds at the pre-clinical stage.
The MMRF directs 90 percent of funds raised to research and related programming. The MMRF received a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator
Charity Navigator
Charity Navigator is an independent, non-profit organization that evaluates American charities. Its stated goal is "to advance a more efficient and responsive philanthropic marketplace by evaluating the financial health of America's largest charities."-About:...
, an A from the American Institute of Philanthropy
American Institute of Philanthropy
The American Institute of Philanthropy is a 501 nonprofit organization, created in the United States by Daniel Borochoff in 1992, to provide information about charities' financial efficiency, accountability, governance, and fundraising. Its official website is known as...
, and approval from the National Cancer Institute
National Cancer Institute
The National Cancer Institute is part of the National Institutes of Health , which is one of 11 agencies that are part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The NCI coordinates the U.S...
for its research grants
Research funding
Research funding is a term generally covering any funding for scientific research, in the areas of both "hard" science and technology and social science. The term often connotes funding obtained through a competitive process, in which potential research projects are evaluated and only the most...
program.
Honorary Board Members
- Lance ArmstrongLance ArmstrongLance Edward Armstrong is an American former professional road racing cyclist who won the Tour de France a record seven consecutive times, after having survived testicular cancer. He is also the founder and chairman of the Lance Armstrong Foundation for cancer research and support...
- Dusty BakerDusty BakerJohnnie B. "Dusty" Baker, Jr. is a former player and current manager in Major League Baseball, currently the manager of the Cincinnati Reds. He enjoyed a 19-year career as a hard-hitting outfielder, mostly with the Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers...
- Tiki BarberTiki BarberAtiim Kiambu Hakeem-Ah "Tiki" Barber is an American football running back who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the New York Giants in the second round of the 1997 NFL Draft. He played college football at Virginia....
- Don BaylorDon BaylorDonald Edward Baylor is a Major League Baseball coach currently the hitting coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks, and a former player and manager. During his 19-year playing career, he was a power hitter who played as a first baseman, outfielder, and designated hitter...
- James T. Brown
- Diahann Carroll
- Bob CostasBob CostasRobert Quinlan "Bob" Costas is an American sportscaster, on the air for the NBC network since the early 1980s.-Early life:...
- Katie CouricKatie CouricKatherine Anne "Katie" Couric is an American journalist and author. She serves as Special Correspondent for ABC News, contributing to ABC World News, Nightline, 20/20, Good Morning America, This Week and primetime news specials...
- Cindy CrawfordCindy CrawfordCynthia Ann "Cindy" Crawford is an American model. Known for her trademark mole just above her lip, Crawford has adorned hundreds of magazine covers throughout her career. She was named #3 on VH1's 40 Hottest Hotties of the 90s...
- Ann CurryAnn CurryAnn Curry is an American television news journalist and co-anchor on NBC's morning television program Today. She is the former news anchor on Today, a role she began in March 1997, and was the host of Dateline NBC from 2005-2011.Curry is a Board Member at the IWMF .-Biography:Curry was born in...
- Eric Davis
- Geraldine FerraroGeraldine FerraroGeraldine Anne Ferraro was an American attorney, a Democratic Party politician, and a member of the United States House of Representatives. She was the first female Vice Presidential candidate representing a major American political party....
- Scott HamiltonScott Hamilton (figure skater)Scott Scovell Hamilton is an American figure skater and Olympic gold medalist. He won four consecutive U.S. championships , four consecutive World Championships and a gold medal in the 1984 Olympics....
- Mariska HargitayMariska HargitayMariska Hargitay is an American actress, best known for her role as New York City sex crimes Detective Olivia Benson on the NBC television drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, a role that has earned her multiple awards and nominations, including an Emmy and Golden Globe.The daughter of actress...
- Lou HoltzLou HoltzLouis Leo "Lou" Holtz is a retired American football coach, and active sportscaster, author, and motivational speaker in the United States...
- Bonnie HuntBonnie HuntBonnie Lynne Hunt is an American actress, comedian, writer, director, television producer and daytime television host.- Early life :...
- Kay Bailey HutchisonKay Bailey HutchisonKathryn Ann Bailey Hutchison, known as Kay Bailey Hutchison , is the senior United States Senator from Texas.She is a member of the Republican Party. In 2001, she was named one of the thirty most powerful women in America by Ladies Home Journal. The first woman to represent Texas in the U.S....
- Dan JansenDan JansenDaniel Erwin Jansen is a former speed skater, best known for winning a gold medal in his final Olympic race after suffering through years of heartbreak. He graduated from West Allis Central High School....
- Hoda Kotb
- Diana KrallDiana KrallDiana Jean Krall, OC, OBC is a Canadian jazz pianist and singer, known for her contralto vocals. She has sold more than 6 million albums in the US and over 15 million worldwide; altogether, she has sold more albums than any other female jazz artist during the 1990s and 2000s...
- Eric McCormackEric McCormackEric James McCormack is a Canadian American actor, musician, writer and producer. Born in Toronto, he began his acting career performing in school plays at Stephen Leacock Collegiate Institute High School...
- Deborah NorvilleDeborah NorvilleDeborah Norville is an American television broadcaster and journalist. Since 1995 she has been host of the syndicated American television program Inside Edition...
- Keith OlbermannKeith OlbermannKeith Theodore Olbermann is an American political commentator and writer. He has been the chief news officer of the Current TV network and the host of Current TV's weeknight political commentary program, Countdown with Keith Olbermann, since June 20, 2011...
- Sharon OsbourneSharon OsbourneSharon Rachel Osbourne is an English television host, author, music manager, businesswoman and promoter as well as the wife of heavy metal singer-songwriter Ozzy Osbourne....
- Carl QuintanillaCarl QuintanillaCarl Quintanilla is an anchor of the CNBC network's "Squawk Box," morning program. Previously, Quintanilla was an NBC News correspondent based in New York and Chicago, and is a substitute on both NBC Nightly News and Today Show.-Reporting career:...
- Al RokerAl RokerAlbert Lincoln "Al" Roker, Jr. is an American television meteorologist as well as an actor and book author. He is best known as being the weather anchor on NBC's Today. On Monday, July 20, 2009, he began co-hosting his new morning show, Wake Up with Al, on The Weather Channel, which airs weekdays...
- Norman Schwarzkopf
- Mel StottlemyreMel StottlemyreMelvin Leon Stottlemyre, Sr. is a former Major League Baseball pitcher and pitching coach. He played 11 years in the Major Leagues, all of them with the New York Yankees...
- Brian WilliamsBrian WilliamsBrian Douglas Williams is the anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News, the evening news program of the NBC television network, a position he assumed in 2004...
- Bob Woodruff
- Lee WoodruffLee WoodruffLee Thornton Woodruff was an American football running back in the National Football League for the Providence Steam Roller, Boston Braves, and Philadelphia Eagles. He played college football at the University of Mississippi. He was born in Batesville, Mississippi....
- Paula Zahn
External links
- Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation
- MMRF Race for Research
- Multiple Myeloma Research Consortium
- Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation on Facebook
- Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation Featured on NBC Nightly News
- The Money Chase: Inside Harvard Business School, a CNBC documentary
- The Battle Over New Cancer Drugs from CBS Evening News with Katie Couric
- Life Triumphant from The New Canaan Observer
- Patient Power from Forbes
- A Fight to the End from CNN Money