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Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation

MISSION

To relentlessly pursue innovative means to accelerate collaborative scientific discoveries and the development of break through multiple myeloma treatments to extend and improve the lives of patients and lead to a cure.

WHERE YOUR SUPPORT GOES

THE MMRF COMMPASSSM STUDY

Launched in 2011, the MMRF CoMMpass Study will be collecting tissue samples from patients over a 10-year period before treatment, at confirmed remission, and at relapse, to identify new drug targets and understand the molecular and genetic changes underpinning the disease as it evolves — and eventually match sub-types to the right treatment.

THE MMRF RESEARCHER GATEWAY

The MMRF Researcher Gateway is a first-in-class, publicly shared database of clinical and molecular data never before made widely available for myeloma. It provides access to genomic and other information from the MMRF CoMMpass Study as it.

THE MMRF COMMUNITY GATEWAY

This online platform connects patients with various subtypes of myeloma to each other and experts, and helps them find appropriate trials. It enables patients to provide important, real-time feedback about therapeutic efficacy and quality of life on treatment that will inform better clinical decisions and patient care — and deepen our understanding of myeloma.

 

THE MMRF GENOMICS INITIATIVE

The most extensive research collaboration ever focused on the genomics of multiple myeloma, the MMGI collaboration was the first to map the multiple myeloma genome. The result, a centralized repository of high-quality genomic information and cutting-edge bioinformatics tools, has improved our ability to identify specific subtypes and design therapies to treat them.

THE RESULTS

Our accomplishments include:

  • Establishing a multi-center tissue bank with more than 4,000 samples.
  • Spearheading an initiative to map the multiple myeloma genome with world-class leaders in genomics.
  • Creating the collaborative Multiple Myeloma Research Consortium (MMRC) of 21 world-renowned institutions.
  • Launching the groundbreaking CoMMpass℠ Study to collect and analyze multiple tissue samples from 1,000 patients over a multi-year course, so that patients will eventually be matched with the right clinical studies and treatments.
  • Building the CoMMunity Gateway, a platform to connect patients sharing sub-types of myeloma with each other and experts.

The results are impressive. Ten drugs received FDA approval in the time it normally takes for one. More recently, we opened clinical trials for new drugs in three approved classes plus agents in many new classes.

As the world's number one private funder of multiple myeloma research, we have raised over $275 million since our inception. We direct nearly 90% of our total budget to research and related programming.