Why is the DFMC funding so critical?

Last night I got together with a group of Vermont healthcare innovators and it came out that I was training for the DFMC and running the Boston marathon in April. Per usual, folks were pretty excited and supportive, but since this was a group of Vermont innovators, the questions arose: what's the DFMC and what does it fund that's worth running all winter for?

Happily I had an answer that this group understood fully: it's one of the few funding sources that funds initial new experiments in cancer therapeutics or diagnostics. It fills a funding gap that allows a "crazy" idea get traction, get data, and then proceed along the bumpy, long path of drug or diagnostic development.

Now, plenty of folks, I'm sure, hear about that "drug development" path, but unless you are a part of it, I don't think people really understand what it means. Two great resources explaining it, came my way this year and if you have the time, take a look.

The first is not about a cancer drug, but does nicely describe how a set of pre-clinical compounds (yes, haven't even gotten into humans yet) went from an initial basic science discovery of a potential target to finally get in the hands of the clinical trials folks at a large pharma company.

http://cen.acs.org/content/dam/cen/92/3/09203-bus2.pdf

The second is a Thompson Reuters ad for its research and IP databases and how those help guide the folks involved at each step in the drug development pathway for a cancer drug. Yes, an ad, but it really does a good job of showing the numerous steps and work it takes to get from "discovery" to drug.

http://www.innovationexcellence.com/blog/2013/09/22/video-highlights-the-innovation-lifecycle/

So there you have it.

Now remember that nothing gets into those pathways without enabling those with the initial idea to do those first experiments, gather the first data, see the first results. As the DFMC site says:

"The Barr Program exemplifies the power of philanthropy in propelling completely new lines of research. It plays a pivotal role in the development of early-career scientists who work on a broad range of research investigations in order to yield new clues about cancer. It is also critical for conducting basic research, which is not eligible for federal fundraising until well along in proof of principle. The program enables leading-edge, highly-innovative research up to the point that it may be possible to attract government or private support, allowing Barr Investigators to bring promising studies forward and make major scientific breakthroughs."

This is why I run.

Thanks for any support you can give.
rundfmc.org/2014/rowgirlgoesrunning