Jun 30 2014 Think tank calls for cross-sector collaborators to turn discoveries into cures

Faster Cures, a Washington, D.C.-based “action tank,” takes an innovative approach to improving medical research and saving lives — a cross-sector approach. Consider this jarring statistic: it takes nearly 15 years and $1 billion to bring just one new therapy from research to patients. The system needs cross-sector collaboration among nontraditional partners who can break down silos, share resources, and address complex issues.

Faster Cures encourages intersector collaboration through its annual Partnering for Cures conference, now in its sixth year. The organization recently opened applications for “innovator” spots for this year’s conference, to be held in New York, NY, November 16 – 18. Innovator spots go to partners engaged in “innovative, cross-sector research collaboration” that can speed the time with which medical discoveries become treatments and, ultimately, cures. Innovators come from across nonprofits, for-profit companies, research institutes, universities, and the public sector.

At The Intersector Project, we’re enthusiasts of these partnerships in medical research and health care delivery, too. CARES (Cardiac Arrest Registry to Enhance Survival), which we profiled in a case study earlier this year, is a great example of how medical innovation occurs when problems are addressed across sectors. In this intersector collaboration, Atlanta hospitals, emergency medical technicians, medical experts, and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention came together to share information, collect data, and increase survival rates for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest incidents.

The application deadline for the Partnering for Cures innovator spots is August 22.