Pharma, Startups

Here are five different approaches to crowdfunding for biotechnology

The impact of federal budget cuts compounded by the challenges of securing funding for biotechnology […]

The impact of federal budget cuts compounded by the challenges of securing funding for biotechnology companies has led to a growing trend of drug development. Scientists are turning to crowdfunding for biotechnology as a way to scrape up money.

A concept for a nonprofit crowdfunding website for medical research hatched at Lehigh Valley StartUp Weekend last fall is moving ahead.

ImPatient includes a team led by Ros Deegan, the senior vice president of business development at Trevena. The idea is to fund phase 2 clinical trials in areas of the organizers’ choosing. It’s in the process of filing a 501 c3 seeking nonprofit status. The organization is based on the Kiva model for microfinancing. It would allow people involved with specific diseases or conditions to fund research directly, bypassing medical charities.

It would work with patient advocacy groups and would spotlight areas where more investment dollars are needed, such as treatments for Alzheimer’s disease.

Cancer treatment has been one area where crowdfunding is growing, particularly to fund cancer treatment development. Consano is a nonprofit for cancer research. It collaborates with development and research administration offices at research institutions to source internally reviewed research projects.

Among the areas projects are sourced include: unfunded but promising projects that fell just below the National Institutes of Health payline; well-funded, well-published researchers with a compelling new project; university seed money competition winners; and bridge funding for ongoing research, according to its website.

Start a Cure was formed by a men’s cancer advocacy group, Malecare. Most of the projects currently listed focus on prostate cancer.

Another website, Experiment, is geared to research at the grant level. Researchers post projects that need funding, they share their project to fundraise and spread awareness about what they are doing. The reward for supporters is insight into that researcher’s work. Projects span medicine, biology, computer science and engineering, among other subject areas.

Medstartr also includes personal appeals for funding one person’s cancer treatment. Some of the more broadly used crowdfunding websites such as Angelist and Indiegogo also list biotech projects.

[Photo credit: Crowdfunding sign from BigStock Photo]

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