A new £30 million venture philanthropy fund is being launched to accelerate the development of treatments, diagnostics and technologies aimed at finding a cure for myeloma, an incurable blood cancer that claims eight lives every day in the UK.
The Jacquelin Forbes-Nixon Myeloma Fund is being established by the DFN Foundation with £15 million already committed. The funding includes £10 million from the foundation and a further £5 million from philanthropist and investor David Forbes-Nixon OBE, subject to matched support from other donors.
The fund will seek an additional £15 million from philanthropic partners and will focus on supporting early-stage science and biotechnology ventures that may be considered too early or high-risk for traditional commercial investment.
Unlike conventional charitable donations, the fund will invest philanthropic capital in promising ventures and reinvest any financial returns into future projects through an evergreen model designed to support ongoing myeloma innovation.
The initiative forms part of the wider Jacquelin Forbes-Nixon Myeloma Mission, which aims to deliver a functional cure for an increasing proportion of patients over the next decade and beyond.
Myeloma develops in the bone marrow and affects around 16 people every day in the UK. The disease remains difficult to diagnose, with around a third of patients only diagnosed following an emergency presentation.
David Forbes-Nixon OBE, founder and Chairman of the DFN Foundation and the JFN Myeloma Fund, said: “When my mother Jacquelin died from myeloma, I promised her I would do everything I could to help find a cure.”
He added: “Twenty years later, science has advanced enormously, but too many promising ideas still struggle to secure investment because they are considered too early or too risky.”
Forbes-Nixon continued: “That is why the DFN Foundation is committing £10 million, and I am personally committing a further £5 million.”
He explained: “We now want others to match that commitment and help us build a £30 million fund.”
Dr Stephanie Oestreich, Managing Director of the JFN Myeloma Fund, said: “There is outstanding science emerging in myeloma, but excellent science does not automatically become a treatment.”
She added: “Success in this area will ultimately be measured by whether we can get better treatments to patients faster. That’s the space this fund will be operating in.”
