The Melanoma Research Alliance: The Power of Patient Advocacy to Accelerate Research and Novel Therapies

Patient advocacy organizations play a major role in accelerating research and are particularly important in a disease like melanoma, for which there is an urgent need for new tools and treatments. Melanoma is a growing public health burden. In the United States alone, the incidence of melanoma has tripled over the past 30 years, and one American dies every hour from the disease. To accelerate the field, the Melanoma Research Alliance (MRA) was founded in 2007 and is now the largest private funder of melanoma research, having invested more than $48 million in innovative and translational research projects worldwide to date. This investment is bearing fruit in the recent transformation of the melanoma clinical landscape, which has brought new hope to patients and their families. Yet, even with new drugs on the market, much more needs to be done until melanoma is effectively addressed. MRA is part of a growing group of nonprofit disease research foundations collectively called "venture philanthropies" that are playing a powerful role in transforming the outlook for their disease by overcoming barriers that bog down progress, targeting key areas, and enhancing collaboration. MRA is leading an innovative agenda to accelerate efforts on behalf of patients. Our goal, while significant, is straightforward: to end suffering and death due to melanoma. (C)2013 AACR.