The Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF) is a charitable organization dedicated to multiple myeloma, an incurable blood cancer. The MMRF runs as if it were a for-profit business, expecting high returns from the money the organization raises from donors.^[1]

History

MMRF was founded in 1998 by twin sisters Kathy Giusti and Karen Andrews, following Kathy's diagnosis with multiple myeloma. Giusti, a pharmaceutical company executive and Harvard Business School Alum, wanted to encourage researchers to develop treatments for multiple myeloma by using business models rather than academic models of drug development.^[1]

About The MMRF

MMRF is a private funder of multiple myeloma research, having raised over $120 million since its inception to contribute funding to more than 120 laboratories worldwide.^[2] MMRF funding contributes to diverse research strategies to yield long-, mid-, and short-term results in an effort to 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 clinical trials conducted at a number of myeloma centers.^{[citation needed]}

In 2009, the MMRF funded research into 30 compounds at the pre-clinical stage.^[3] By 2013 it had raised more than $250 million and its work has helped gain approval of six new drugs to treat the disease.^[4]