Royalty Pharma Donates $7.5 Million to Blood Cancer United's Therapy Acceleration Program
News related to:Blood Cancer United · 2 min read
Blood Cancer United, a leading nonprofit focused on blood cancer patient support, research, and advocacy, has announced a significant $7.5 million donation from Royalty Pharma to its Therapy Acceleration Program (TAP). This donation marks a new phase for TAP, with Royalty Pharma serving as the first and largest corporate donor under an updated model that invites direct donations to the program.
TAP is designed to support early-stage biotech companies developing therapies for blood cancer, with a focus on addressing significant unmet medical needs. The program provides critical funding, as well as scientific, clinical, and business expertise, strategic guidance, and access to a global network of blood cancer experts. The goal is to help bring new therapies closer to patients and ultimately improve outcomes for those affected by blood cancer.
Dr. E. Anders Kolb, president and CEO of Blood Cancer United, emphasized the importance of this donation.
The donation builds on a collaborative partnership between Blood Cancer United and Royalty Pharma. In 2022, Royalty Pharma launched a five-year, $7.5 million alliance with the organization focused on addressing healthcare disparities in blood cancer care and treatment, including expanding access to clinical trials for underserved patients. The new gift expands that relationship with a shared commitment to drive the next generation of blood cancer therapies to patients.
Pablo Legorreta, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Royalty Pharma, stated, "For nearly 30 years, Royalty Pharma has invested in scientific and medical innovation, including many important advances in blood cancer. We believe that scientific discovery can only transform patients' lives when it is successfully translated into medicines. This gift reflects both our longstanding commitment to advancing blood cancer innovation and our confidence in Blood Cancer United's ability to help promising therapies move closer to patients."
Founded in 2007, TAP has supported six therapies that have gone on to receive U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval or been included in the National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines. More than 30 active clinical studies are currently evaluating TAP-supported therapies. The program has played a key role in advancing the development of ziftomenib, a menin inhibitor, which is now FDA-approved as a targeted therapy for adults with relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia with a susceptible NPM1 mutation.
The updated TAP model builds on Blood Cancer United's longstanding approach to funding science while expanding opportunities for collaboration with industry and philanthropic partners. By enabling directed donations to TAP and continuing to reinvest returns, the model is intended to help accelerate the pace of drug development.
In addition to Royalty Pharma, Blood Cancer United has received support from Blood Cancer UK, which contributed $1 million to the program, and the organization itself committed $15 million to support TAP's continued growth.
Blood Cancer United's president and CEO, Dr. E. Anders Kolb, expressed gratitude for the support.
The donation from Royalty Pharma is part of a broader effort by a group of inaugural funders supporting this next phase of TAP. The program continues to provide funding and scientific, clinical, and drug development expertise to advance therapies at critical stages of development to address unmet medical needs in blood cancer.