Ever imagined the source of the millions of medical drugs that patients purchase every year from chemists’ shops and millions of medical facilities worldwide? Developing a new drug for treatment is not only long but also a costly venture. The process is so expensive that obtaining funds through ordinary means cannot be sufficient. It implies that the institution intending to undertake such a project may require other models of funding. One of the significant sources of finance for most of these institutions is disease-focused nonprofit research foundations.
These foundations play a leading role in raising capital. Since their focus is on disease control and finding a cure, these institutions create a conducive system for companies involved in this sector, specifically about precision medicine. The rapidly developing trend in modern medicine involves using molecular profiling and genetic technology. Such therapies are developed for a narrowly defined category of patients. Recent milestones in the War against Cancer have been due to advancements in precision medicine.
With the right leadership, planning, and technology, nonprofit organizations can play a significant role in activating a far-reaching ecosystem and raising funds. On their own, disease-focused nonprofit organizations cannot raise enough money to fund the process of finding a cure. They create enough attention to entice investors and other companies to finance the worthy undertaking, not mentioning the financial interest these investors hope to the bank once a drug is developed.
The different approaches nonprofit organizations may use to acquire funds for disease research include:
Creating a sustainable stream of revenue
It is achieved by giving revenue to the nonprofit research foundation when the grants eventually yield successful results.
Through venture philanthropy
Here, a donor hands out money to a nonprofit research foundation to receive tax deductions or exemptions. An example of nonprofits that have adopted this approach includes the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
Through impact funds
Impact fund organizations have the capital and scientific experts capable of identifying and structuring investment opportunities.
Final Thoughts
Nonprofit research foundations still possess the potential to make scientific breakthroughs in precision medicine. It will also drive their efforts as they try to find a cure for the disease.