The Breast Cancer Research Foundation has launched BCRF Ventures, a $100 million venture philanthropy program to advance new treatments and innovations beyond the lab.
Announced at the Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting, BCRF Ventures will support early-stage companies developing new approaches to breast cancer prevention, detection, diagnosis, and treatment.
“Some of the most promising ideas in breast cancer research are lost at the very moment they are ready to move beyond the lab,” said Donna McKay, President and CEO of BCRF. “With BCRF Ventures, we are creating a new pathway to carry breakthrough science further—and get it to patients faster.”
BCRF Ventures launches with $23 million in donations and plans to deploy the full $100 million over the next 5-to-7 years across up to 30 companies. As an ongoing program, financial returns will be reinvested in future companies.
The initiative expands BCRF’s broader research efforts, following a recent $15 million commitment from The Estée Lauder Companies to BCRF’s Global Research Initiative on Breast Cancer in Younger Women.
“With traditional funding models experiencing major shifts that threaten to upend critical research, a bold new vision is a necessity to move research forward,” said Karen Hale, BCRF Board of Directors Co-Chair and a lead funder of BCRF Ventures. “And when it comes to bold, when it comes to vision, when it comes to innovation—the Breast Cancer Research Foundation has proven, time and again, its ability to deliver returns on investment that are measured in lives saved.”
