Early next year, a drug for cystic fibrosis is expected to come before the US Food and Drug Administration for approval. It is a moment that the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF) will have waited 12 years and invested US$75 million to witness. Approval of the drug, VX-770 — developed by Vertex Pharmaceuticals of Cambridge, Massachusetts, with support from the foundation — would provide a new treatment for patients, and a revenue stream for the charity…

Download the full article (PDF): Charities Seek Cut of Drug Royalties, Nature, July 21, 2011, Vol. 475

Since 1989, we have closed many transactions for disease foundation clients in the field that has come to be known as Venture Philanthropy. Though each charity and transaction have unique  aspects, there are some issues that are either regularly raised by new entrants or continue to be the subject of discussion among experienced participants. In this article, we discuss many of these issues in a question and answer format…

Download the full report (PDF): Venture Philanthropy Legal Report, Winter 2010, #2: Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Venture Philanthropy Transactions But Were Afraid To Ask

This report is one in a series on legal issues of interest to non-profit organizations engaged in or thinking about Venture Philanthropy work. We serve as outside general counsel to a number of such entities…

Download the full report (PDF): Venture Philanthropy Legal Report, Spring 2009, #1: The Importance of an Interruption License

Fed up pleading with the federal government to fund research and tired of waiting for academic scientists to develop treatments, Robert Beall, president of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, made a historic decision in 1998: He would find a company interested in developing a cure for the fatal lung disease and pay it for its efforts…

Download the full article (PDF): Patient, Heal Thyself, Corporation Counsel, June 2002