About Us

SOME OF THE MANY CHALLENGES IN HEALTHCARE

Children are dying from rare diseases, yet potential treatments are sitting on the shelf due to an economic model that does not support their development given the small patient populations.

Pediatric cancer, the leading cause of death by disease in children, has increased 29 percent in the last 20 years. During this time only 2 pediatric-specific drugs have been approved, while more than 200 have been approved for adults.

Despite a crisis in mental health in the US, with one in four Americans suffering from a diagnosable mental illness and suicide rates soaring, the pharmaceutical industry has failed to develop more than a handful of novel psychiatric drugs in the last 30 years.

The US has an aging population that will be overwhelming our care systems, yet talented entrepreneurs developing innovative technologies that will improve quality of life and prolong independence lack the funding necessary to reach commercialization.

WHY WE FOUNDED THE CATALYTIC IMPACT FOUNDATION

Billions of dollars annually go to funding health and life science research at universities and medical research centers, but just a small fraction of that research is ever commercialized so it can get to the patients who need it.  Yet, abundant wealth sits idle in family foundations and donor advised funds, looking for ways to be employed to help solve some of these devastating health conditions.

Funding of early-stage companies is crucial to help move the most promising innovations along the path to commercialization, and through the “Valley of Death”.  CIF has created an investment vehicle to fund these transformational technologies. CIF employs donated capital to invest in the most promising young companies, supporting extraordinary innovations, creative solutions, and visionary leaders.

HOW CIF WORKS

CIF has built a broad community of leaders, each experts in their field, who are similarly committed to addressing unmet healthcare needs and solving the funding gap.  We have also established partnerships with leading philanthropic, investment, research, and industry organizations to identify the most innovative treatments, and to support and accelerate their path to commercialization.

In 2015, supported by our founding donor, Resonance Philanthropies, CIF launched a unique platform to accelerate innovative health solutions from the lab to the bedside.  Using donated capital and an evergreen model, CIF makes impact investments in cutting-edge companies. Returns go back into the fund to be recycled for more impact.  We call this “regenerative philanthropy”, and our platform that is targeted, impactful and scalable.