Media Inquires: 
Cecilia Arradaza
Communications Director
(202) 336-8912 (office)
Carradaza@fastercures.org

 
 

 

Stay connected. Sign up now to be informed of the latest FasterCures blogs, events and program updates.

 

Archive

< Back to In the News
In The News
11/03/2011
Think Medical Research, But Think Smart - Philanthropy News Digest
09/19/2011
Mining Data for Better Medicine - Technology Review
06/16/2011
Wall Street Journal Health Blog: Lessons From AIDS/HIV Advocacy Efforts - The Wall Street Journal
06/02/2011
TIME magazine highlights FasterCures TRAIN program - TIME

Entrepreneurial and results-oriented nonprofits are creating innovative ways to accelerate medical research. TIME magazine spotlights how these groups are changing the charity landscape and highlights how the FasterCures TRAIN program facilitates efficiency through the sharing of best practices.
 

03/20/2011
Chronicle of Philanthropy highlights work of FasterCures - Chronicle of Philanthropy

Reposted with permission of The Chronicle of Philanthropy, http://philanthropy.com.
 

02/15/2011
Healthcare Investment–The Hidden Crisis - The Wall Street Journal

Studies show that "improved public health translates directly into greater national productivity, which underpins all economic growth. So let's get our priorities straight," writes FasterCures Chairman Michael Milken in this Wall Street Journal opinion piece. Milken recommends four ways in which policymakers should remove barriers to innovation in medical research that improves health, including incentives for the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, adequate resources for NIH and FDA, and supporting prevention.

02/10/2011
Ready, Set, Go! Innovators Set the Pace in the Race for Faster Cures - Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
02/02/2011
Alliance for a Stronger FDA Announces Margaret Anderson as Vice President in New Leadership - Alliance for a Stronger FDA
01/24/2011
On Huffington Post: Top 10 Medical Research Trends to Watch in 2011 - The Huffington Post
01/07/2011
Just released: translational research whitepaper, Crossing Over the Valley of Death - FasterCures
12/12/2010
Medical Research: When Scientific 'Breakthroughs' Get Lost in Translation - The Huffington Post
10/07/2010
Toward a New American Century - The Wall Street Journal

FasterCures Chairman Michael Milken says health is among six areas of opportunities to restore U.S. economic leadership in The Wall Street Journal opinion piece
 

09/14/2010
Call for Innovator Presentation Applications for Partnering for Cures 2010 - FasterCures

FasterCures invites organizations engaged in innovative, cross-sector collaborations aimed at accelerating the discovery and development of new medical solutions to present their novel approach to medical research, development, funding and/or partnering at the 2010 Partnering for Cures meeting. Each 25-minute presentation provides an opportunity to engage potential investors, partners, and/or collaborators in moving your existing initiative forward or amplifying the impact of your approach.

To vie for one of up to 30 innovator presentation slots, be sure you meet the below criteria and if so, complete the online presentation application by October 8, 2010. A small portion of the slots will be reserved for collaborations and initiatives in the start-up/seed phase, and the remainder will go to more established programs which have already demonstrated – to some degree – how multiple parties can effectively work together towards a common research and/or commercialization goal.

An external advisory committee will help review applications and develop the Innovator Presentation Program Agenda. FasterCures will notify you in late October to let you know whether or not to prepare to present. We will also provide presenting organizations with a suggested template to use as a reference for presentation content and flow.

Apply Now for an Innovator Presentation Slot

08/25/2010
Marketplace Features How Private Funding is Accelerating Research, Quotes Margaret Anderson - Marketplace

Bill Radke: And, while the Department of Education was handing out money today, another part of the federal government was thinking of taking its money back. Yesterday, a federal judge issued a temporary injunction that blocks federal financing for embryonic stem cell research. The ruling could jeopardize more than $100 million in government funding -- leaving researchers to rely on private money.

And private money is where this next story comes in. There was news today that a virus similar to HIV might cause Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. That finding could transform how the disease is treated and viewed, and it came courtesy of private individuals with deep pockets.
From our Marketplace Health Desk at WHYY, Gregory Warner reports.

Gregory Warner: Wilhelmina Jenkins was on the verge of finishing her doctoral degree in physics when she came down with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome -- what the media was then calling "yuppie flu."

Wilhelmina Jenkins: I lost a lot of cognitive ability I couldn't really understand my own research. So I would look at my own notes and not know what I had done before.

Doctors weren't much help, and neither were federal agencies that fund scientific research.
Jenkins: Science is hard. It takes time. We weren't expecting miracles; we were expecting our government to take this seriously and we did not get it.

In the end, the funds came from another source. Private grants kept researchers going. A foundation in Reno, Nev., funded by the parents of a girl with the disease, was the first to trace a connection between Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and a class of virus similar to HIV. That finding was reinforced by a study released this week by the National Academy of Sciences. It could lead to treatment with drugs used to treat HIV.

Margaret Anderson: So you suddenly have a pathway, and you have an audience.
Margaret Anderson runs FasterCures. It helps family foundations take a more active role in medical research, rather than just writing a check.

Anderson: More often than not people realize, once they are diagnosed as a patient, that there's no cures in the cupboard.

She says private funds still account for only around 5 percent of total research dollars. But families can steer scientific collaboration, drive public attention and keep studies going until they're far enough along for a big drug company to pay attention.

In Philadelphia, I'm Gregory Warner for Marketplace.
 

04/01/2010
Nature Reviews Drug Discovery Features “An Audience with Margaret Anderson” - Nature Reviews Drug Discovery

In the April issue of Nature Reviews Drug Discovery, FasterCures executive director Margaret Anderson shares the organization’s aims, programs, and priorities. Anderson joins a remarkable list of medical research leaders featured in this column including David Eddy, Founder and Chief Medical Officer Emeritus, Archimedes, Daniel Vasella, Chairman and former Chief Executive Officer of Novartis, and Marc Cluzel, Executive Vice President of R&D at Sanofi–Aventis. (Subscription Required)

03/02/2010
FasterCures collaborates with Arabella Advisors to develop the issue brief: Investing in Innovative Medical Research - Arabella Advisors

Eric Kessler and Margaret Anderson contributed to this Issue Brief. Eric is a principal and managing director at Arabella Advisors, providing counsel on strategic philanthropic investments in medical research and other areas to some of the country’s leading family, institutional, and corporate donors. Margaret is Executive Director of FasterCures, the Washington-based center of the Milken Institute. She drives the organization’s efforts to accelerate the process of discovery and clinical development of new therapies for the treatment of deadly and
debilitating diseases.
 

02/23/2010
FasterCures Executive Director Margaret Anderson Quoted in Philanthropy Magazine - Philanthropy Magazine

Medical research is dominated by government and corporate funding. How can philanthropic dollars find a distinctive niche? Philanthropy Magazine's latest issue features a cover story focuses on the role of private philanthropy in American Medicine. In the article, FasterCures Executive Director Margaret Anderson notes that “The hallmark of the new medical philanthropy is that it’s very informed, it’s engaged, and it’s really results-oriented.”
 

01/07/2010
The Huffington Post Features FasterCures' Top 10 to Watch in 2010 - The Huffington Post
10/01/2009
FasterCures' Margaret Anderson Writes about R&D Challenges in the Winter 2009 Milken Institute Review - Milken Institute Review

With the Obama administration and Congress now negotiating reform, the American health care system as we know it may be about to undergo the most significant makeover since the introduction of Medicare. Meanwhile, the unprecedented public engagement on the fundamental issues faced by policymakers offers a window into systemic transformation in action. But as Americans focus on how best to deliver and pay for health care, we believe it is equally important not to lose sight of what I would call our "health cure" system. For unless we do a better job of translating promising scientific research into new means of preventing and treating disease, we will lack the wherewithal to contain health care costs -- or, for that matter, productivity losses and human suffering.

08/12/2009
Council for American Medical Innovation Welcomes Newest Partners, The AIDS Institute and FasterCures - Council for American Medical Innovation
07/29/2009
Mike Milken on CNBC Special Program - CNBC

Mike Milken on CNBC special program, “Meeting of the Minds: The Future of Health Care,” broadcast Monday, July 27 at 9:00 p.m. Eastern and 10:00 p.m. Pacific.

05/27/2009
FasterCures Participates in Mixed Virtual-Reality Health Expo Panel - FasterCures

FasterCures will be featured in TechSoup Global's NonProfit Commons Health Expo, a mixed reality event that marks the official launch of the Health Commons in Second Life. Health Commons seeks to bring together real-world health-related nonprofits, academics, educators, thought-leaders, foundations, and volunteer-supporters to showcase recent developments in healthcare.

Earlier this year, FasterCures joined Second Life, the Internet's largest, user-created 3D community and established its virtual home in NonProfit Commons which already houses more than 65 health and social-benefit organizations. Establishing a presence in Second Life allows FasterCures to reach a broad range of audiences and involve them in the quest for new treatments to deadly and debilitating diseases. This effort builds on an already engaged community of informed and connected health consumers and leverages the social networking's strengths to improve the biomedical research environment.

02/05/2009
Greg Simon Quoted in Nature Cover Story - Nature

The February 5, 2009 issue of Nature features a cover story “Closing Arguments” discussing the struggle for research grants and the battle to keep a labs funded. Greg Simon, president of FasterCures, is quoted “There has been an assumption from the way people were trained and educated that the government is in charge of full employment for research scientists. Those days are over."

11/04/2008
Greg Simon Quoted in Newsweek Article - Newsweek

Newsweek magazine's November 10 issue features an article about the gulf between a biomedical discovery and new treatment and the opportunities that the next administration and Congress have to address this 'valley of death.' Greg Simon, FasterCures president is quoted in this article.

10/21/2008
FasterCures releases Patients’ and Consumers’ Interests and Perspectives in Personalized Healthcare - FasterCures

A white paper on the cutting-edge possibilities of personalized healthcare and the need for patient involvement provides a glimpse into how "personal" personalized healthcare is and what consumers think about the advent of this era. This paper is commissioned by the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, as part of Secretary Michael O. Leavitt’s Initiative on Personalized Health Care.

10/09/2008
Greg Simon Named One of Ten Most Influential People in Biomedical Policy - Nature Medicine

The October issue of Nature Medicine names Greg Simon, FasterCures president, as one of the ten most influential people to watch in biomedical policy. An excerpt of the article is below:

According to the article, influence can take many forms. When it comes to biomedical science policy in the US, the names of some people with clout are obvious, such as Harold Varmus (who serves as a top science advisor for Barack Obama) and Anthony Fauci (who heads the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and has the ear of the current president). But beyond the Nobel laureates and university presidents there is another set of people who wield power. Some of these influential players, such as patient advocates or experts who churn out reports for think tanks, are well known within their own communities. Others, such as Senate staffers or policy makers at the National Institutes of Health, operate under the radar.

Nature Medicine listed "a handful of influential people who quietly help keep the wheels of biomedical science turning."

  1. John Edward Porter, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Research!America, Partner, Hogan & Hartson
  2. Bettilou Taylor, Minority Staff Director, Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies, US Senate Committee on Appropriations
  3. Tara O’Toole, Director, Center for Biosecurity at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
  4. David Bowen, Majority Staff Director for Health, US Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
  5. Janet Woodcock, Director, Center for Drug Evaluation, and Research at the US Food and Drug Administration
  6. Keith Yamamoto, Chairman, Board on Life Sciences, National Academies
  7. David Beier, Senior Vice President, Global Government and Corporate Affairs, Amgen
  8. Kathy Hudson, Director, Genetics and Public Policy, Center of Johns Hopkins
  9. Greg Simon, President, FasterCures
  10. Norka Ruiz Bravo, NIH Deputy Director for Extramural Research
09/03/2008
Greg Simon interviewed on Earth & Sky radio series - Earth & Sky Radio

Greg Simon, president of FasterCures was interviewed as part of the Earth & Sky radio series to discuss the importance of biobanks and how biobank sharing can lead to cures for diseases.

08/04/2008
News spotlights a local research foundation, its efforts to raise funds, and mentions FasterCures' Entrepreneurs for Cures report - Erie Times

"FasterCures, part of the Milken Foundation, advocates for cures of all types of diseases, not just cancer. Its recent report is called "Entrepreneurs for Cures: The Critical Need for Innovative Approaches to Disease Research." Certainly the Kanzius device -- invented by a radio engineer, not a medical doctor -- would seem to fall into the "innovative" category. We encourage residents to continue to support the John Kanzius Cancer Research Foundation.”

07/30/2008
FasterCures and the Melanoma Research Alliance featured in The Wall Street Journal article on CollabRx - The Wall Street Journal

Today’s Wall Street Journal article “Putting Drug Development in Patients’ Hands” features Dr. Jay Tenenbaum’s Web-based company CollabRx. CollabRx aims to expand patient-funded research further by connecting individuals or small numbers of patients with the tools and services they need. The article highlights CollabRx’s work with a Melanoma Research Alliance (MRA) grantee, the John Wayne Cancer Institute, provides information about MRA, and includes a quote from FasterCures president Greg Simon.

07/29/2008
Job 1 for the AHIC successor? - Government Health IT

The American Health Information Community is going out of business at the end of the year and will be replaced by an unnamed organization, known familiarly as A2. In this article, one of the leaders of the new organization discusses how the new organization will work to mesh data standards for medical research with its work on standards for e-health records.
 

06/17/2008
We Need a New War on Cancer - U.S. News & World Report

Dr. Bernadine Healy's column discusses that strategically ramping up work in cancer genomics and a newer area of exploration, cancer stem cells, is what will lead to improved treatments, provided the money, talent, and technological resources are there. Greg Simon's testimony before the Senate HELP committee is mentioned.

05/19/2008
Nonprofits Become Funding Source for Smaller Biotechs - BioWorld Financial Watch

In their search for cures, many nonprofit disease foundations are playing the role of investor, funneling research dollars to biotechnology companies. But unlike a venture capital firm, these donor-based patient advocacy groups don't expect a financial return on their "investment" in return for research grants.
 

05/16/2008
Microsoft, Google Join Healthcare Field - Investors Business Daily

Analysts see promise and problems in online health efforts by Google and Microsoft. Still in testing, Google Health and Microsoft HealthVault aim to give Web surfers a place to store medical records from their doctors, plus lab results and more. The sites will also give users tools to help keep in good health.

05/15/2008
FasterCures President Greg Simon Testifies to U.S. Senate HELP Committee on Cancer Challenges and Opportunities in the 21st Century - NewsRX

FasterCures president Greg Simon joined other leaders in the cancer community at a HELP Committee hearing on cancer challenges and opportunities in the 21st Century. His testimony addressed the need to focus our national medical research enterprise on curing diseases, not just studying them.

05/30/2007
BioBank Central Launches Online Forum to Drive Global Connectivity Among Biobanking Community - PRNewswire via COMTEX

BioBank Central launches online forum to drive global connectivity among biobanking community - Forum will raise key issues in the field of biobanking that are impeding the advancement of personalized medicine

04/18/2007
Redstone Commits to Charities - Variety

Sumner Redstone, the 83-year-old controlling shareholder of Viacom and CBS, announced he has committed $105 million in donations to advance cancer treatment and burn recovery at three nonprofit healthcare organizations.

12/13/2006
Report: Include Research in NHI - Government Health IT

FasterCures releases report which focuses on the importance of giving researcher's access to EHRs and genomic database information in order to accelerate the discovery of new therapies to treat diseases.

10/30/2006
ETFs That Target Disease - BusinessWeek

BusinessWeek profiles a new set of exchange-traded funds that will allow investors to funnel dollars into specific disease categories.

09/25/2006
Bets on Biotech - U.S. News and World Report

A look at how the nonprofit world is beginning to get involved in financing for-profit drug ventures.

09/01/2006
Clinical trial data: to disclose or not to disclose? - Nature Biotechnology

A look at The Enhancing Drug Safety and Innovation Act of 2006, which calls for the establishment of a mandatory clinical trials registry and results database, and whether or not it will accomplish the stated goal of bolstering the public's confidence in the drug industry and the FDA.

08/08/2006
New drug safety bill in U.S. Senate - The Scientist

A look at how a proposed Senate bill would strengthen monitoring for approved drugs and require companies to deposit clinical trial data into a registry.

07/13/2006
Ex-Executive Backs Big Push to Get A Jump on Cancer - Wall Street Journal

Profile of a Silicon Valley millionaire who founded the Canary Foundation to begin an industrial-style attack on problems with early cancer detection.

07/13/2006
Giving it away - Nature

A look at how some charities are starting to operate like venture capitalists, funding fledgling drug companies rather than more well-established biomedical research projects.

07/08/2006
Fighting Diseases With Checkbooks - New York Times

How individual philanthropists can impact medical research and development, benefit scientific advancement and promote increased spending from outside sources.

06/13/2006
Letter: The costs of cures - Metro West Daily News

Greg letter to the editor on the value of human biological materials in research and the rules and responsibilities that should govern their use.

05/23/2006
Stem Cells Reborn - Technology Review

Two-part article on stem cell research funding. 

05/16/2006
Science For Life: A Conversation With Nobel Laureate David Baltimore - Health Affairs

FasterCures board member David Baltimore on the biotechnology revolution and what innovation means to science, health, and the economy.

05/01/2006
Drug safety data sharing - Nature Biotechnology

Article on how some large drug companies have agreed to share information about how they predict drug safety.

04/30/2006
Taking the Least of You - The New York Times

Greg letter to the editor on medical research and tissue ownership.

04/13/2006
More Patients Are Beginning To Lose Patience With FDA - Investor's Business Daily

Article on the patient's right to take pharmaceutical risk.

04/12/2006
IT is Prescription for Ailing U.S. Health Care System - Knowledge@W.P.Carey

A look at bioinformatics.

03/27/2006
IT is a key to better health care - The Arizona Republic

Health leaders gathered in Phoenix discuss how technology can improve healthcare.

02/13/2006
Hidden Keys to Health - Government Health IT

A look at the potential positive impact of electronic medical records on medical research.

01/23/2006
Bush Should Push Medical Research With NIH Reform - Roll Call

Morton Kondracke on why President George W. Bush and Congress should support bipartisan legislation creating a Center for Cures at the National Institutes of Health.

12/30/2005
Health Industry Sees Green in Gray - Investor's Business Daily

Greg Simon was quoted on recent troubles at the FDA: "Leadership is a big problem for the FDA, says Greg Simon, president of FasterCures, a group that lobbies to speed up the process of bringing new drugs out. 'It can be the best organization from the neck down, but it needs a good head,' Simon said. 'The FDA needs someone to set the tone and the risk level.'"

11/21/2005
Stem Cell Blowback - BioCentury

An examination of the California stem cell experience.

11/02/2005
Proposition 71: A model for State Involvement in Biomedical Research? - Hype amp; Hope

A profile of FasterCures' stem cell case study.

10/21/2005
Report: Research community needs say in national EMR efforts - Healthcare IT News

Several media outlets covered the release of FasterCures' white paper: "Think Research: Using Electronic Health Records to Bridge Patient Care and Research

10/21/2005
Report: Research Community Should Be Included in National EMR Development - iHealth Beat

Several media outlets covered the release of FasterCures' white paper: "Think Research: Using Electronic Health Records to Bridge Patient Care and Research"

10/21/2005
Don't overlook research needs, organization says - Government Health IT

Several media outlets covered the release of FasterCures' white paper: "Think Research: Using Electronic Health Records to Bridge Patient Care and Research

10/20/2005
Report: E-records a Research Boon - Health Data Management

Several media outlets covered the release of FasterCures' white paper: "Think Research: Using Electronic Health Records to Bridge Patient Care and Research

03/11/2005
On the Edge of Innovation - Tech Central Station

A profile of Mike Milken's efforts to spur innovation in the field of medical research, including the founding of FasterCures.

11/18/2004
FasterCures in Fortune - Fortune Magazine

Greg Simon - November 18, 2004 Fortune's November 29, 2004 issue chronicles Mike Milken's success in challenging the status quo in medical research. It ends with an overview of FasterCures, founded by Mike to accelerate medical solutions for all diseases.

12/16/2003
A Constant Advocate for Medical Progess - The Wall Street Journal

Michael Milken, Letter to the Editor

07/14/2003
American Science, American Lives - The Wall Street Journal
01/01/1900
The Huffington Post Features FasterCures' Top 10 to Watch in 2010 - T