How Institute Differs from Other Research Foundations
How Institute Differs from Other Research Foundations
The John Paul II Medical Research Institute differentiates itself from established, well-known private medical research foundations in the following fashion:
1. Supports only pro-life medical research.
We are a pro-life institute and do not support human fetal research, human embryonic stem cell research, or human cloning. Meanwhile, there are many organizations, foundations and research organizations that openly support embryonic stem cell research.
The American Life League has published a list of organizations that have expressed public support for human embryonic stem cell research:
https://www.all.org/charity-watchlist.
You can learn about an organization’s stance on embryonic stem cell research through the following:
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Official policy statements
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Coalitions with lobbyists for the research.
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Signatures on letters to Congress expressing public support for the research.
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Funding contributions for human embryonic stem cell research.
Since the list was published, we have received a response from the Roswell Park Cancer Institute that they do not support human embryonic stem cell research.
2. Spends a higher percentage of our budget on medical research than established private foundations.
We believe that the best way to advocate for patients is to find treatments and cures. To achieve that end, our ultimate goal is to devote 65 to 70 percent of our budget towards medical research. Many established private foundations raise multi-million dollars of private funding annually but spend only a small percent of their budget towards medical research. For 2013, we received $172,000 in private donations and devoted 65 percent of our donations towards Alzheimer’s disease and cancer medical research.
In contrast:
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Alzheimer’s Association’s 2012 financial report:
a) Raised: 119 million
b) Budged for research: 14% -
American Cancer Society’s 2012 financial report:
a) Raised: 934 million in private funding
b) Budged for research: 16% -
Susan G Komen’s 2012 financial report:
a) Raised: 360 million in private funding
b) Budged for research: 20%
3. Commits to avoid paying exceedingly high executive salaries.
Because we want to devote a high percentage to medical research, we will strive in the future to avoid paying high executive salaries. Some of the established foundations pay their executives extremely high salaries, and while we do not condemn foundations for paying high salaries, we believe that research is a priority with the majority of our funding be directed toward finding cures.
4. Uses a non-profit biotechnology model.
Many established private foundations fund academic research and define success as to how many scientific publications they have funded were published in prestigious scientific journals. While there is value in adding new scientific knowledge, studies have shown that academic research rarely and directly leads to new treatments.
We have chosen a non-profit biotechnology model to define our success. A non-profit biotechnology model breaks down the process of developing a drug or product into discreet steps. These steps include Discovery Science, Lead Discovery, Lead Optimization, Pre-Clinical Studies (to IND), Clinical Development, and Registration & Launch. Our objective is to conduct medical research that will lead to a medical therapy or diagnostic product or device to regulatory approval and begin a clinical trial. There is a major lack of support and resources between early discovery stage and the beginning of a clinical trial. We focus our effort to decrease the cost and shorten the time in this area. Our metrics are:
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Number of patients enrolled in clinical trials.
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Number of patients that received FDA compassionate use of experimental drugs.
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Number of drugs FDA approved.
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Number of patients directly helped from our medical research.
5. Integrates clinical care, medical research and drug development.
Unfortunately, most medical research does not usually aid existing patients but rather future patients instead. We believe that in order to help future patients we need to integrate our research with existing patients now. To advance medical research, we try to integrate clinical care, medical research, and drug development, which are typically fragmented processes. We want existing patients to participate in medical research to help improve drug development.