Lou DiGennaro
Showing 1–2 of 2 transcripts.
- Milken Institute1h 3m
Impatient Patients: How Disease Organizations Are Accelerating Research
Margaret Anderson, Lou DiGennaro, Jonathan Simons, Gordon Gunn, Deborah Black, John Walsh
Representatives from Faster Cures and five major disease-focused nonprofits outlined how venture philanthropy and patient-led activism accelerate cures by de-risking early-stage research and navigating the "Valley of Death" between discovery and clinical application. Leaders from the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Prostate Cancer Foundation, and the Alpha-1 Foundation detailed strategic investments that generated massive financial leverage and established critical infrastructure, such as patient registries and rapid autopsy programs, to overcome funding gaps and accelerate trial recruitment. The panel concluded that sustainable progress requires aligning academia, industry, and regulators while empowering patients to actively define research priorities and drive policy changes for faster approvals and reimbursement.
- Milken Institute1h 0m
Financing the Future of Bioscience and Pharma
Melissa Stevens, Lou DiGennaro, Rajiv Kahl, Jody Black, Matthew Perry, Greg Simon
Facing a critical funding gap where traditional venture capital and pharmaceutical giants avoid high-risk early-stage assets, diverse entities including the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, the NIH, and crowdfunding platforms like Poliwag are deploying non-dilutive capital and democratized investment models to accelerate therapeutic development. These initiatives have successfully leveraged millions to generate billions in downstream deal flow, while regulatory shifts and public market mechanisms enable smaller biotechs to bridge the "valley of death" and reach patients faster. Ultimately, the event highlights a structural shift toward a continuum of care where government research, patient advocacy, and public markets converge to transform scientific discovery into viable treatments for life-threatening diseases.