Aevolve, a medical innovation platform, announced last week that it will be making rare disease research a top priority in its blockchain-powered accelerator, which provides a pathway for alternative funding of medical innovations.
According to Aevolve CEO Rogelio Santos:
…There is a gap in the way new drugs, treatments and technologies are funded and brought to market that is leaving 95% of all rare diseases with absolutely no treatment. The problem is that technologies that target these diseases are rarely funded because the market size is smaller than the more common conditions. Patients don’t care how profitable a drug is–they care about their health, their wallets, and their families. This isn’t just an economic issue, it’s a moral one.”
Blockchain technology refers to the transparent, publicly accessible ledger that allows for the secure transfer of ownership of units of value. This technology uses decentralized consensus to maintain the network, which means it is not centrally controlled by a bank, corporation, or government.
So this is a great marriage between the rare disease community and emerging tech of the future!
Because of the smaller patient population and financial incentive to develop treatments for these diseases, some governments have stepped in to subsidize this research so that profitability isn’t the only determining factor in the research and development of these treatments.
“By connecting patients directly to the innovators on the frontlines in the fight against these diseases, we empower them to find a market solution that traditional models never could. Instead of government subsidies we employ a market solution to a market problem which is exactly what Aevolve and the Biospheres Ecosystem are doing,” says Rogelio.
To read more about this medical and tech breakthrough, click here!
