Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Correspondence
  • Published:

Response to ‘Non-profits wade in where for-profit life science investment fears to tread’

Nature Biotechnology (2026)Cite this article

Subjects

Barbara Nasto’s insightful feature on the growing importance of non-profit organizations in life-science innovation1 rightly highlights how entities such as the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi), Medicines for Malaria Venture or Coalition for Epidemiological Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) have redefined translational models for global health. Yet the article could be viewed through a wider lens — one that also captures the profound transformation occurring in the rare-disease ecosystem, where patient-led and philanthropic organizations have become powerful drivers of biomedical progress.

In recent years, hundreds of disease-specific patient organizations have evolved beyond advocacy to act as de facto R&D entities — funding early discovery, de-risking translational steps and co-developing clinical programs with biotech and pharmaceutical partners2. These groups, often founded by affected families, exemplify what we have termed philanthropic drug development: a model in which philanthropic capital and patient expertise merge to propel therapeutic innovation where traditional incentives fail3.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on SpringerLink
  • Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. Nasto, B. Nat. Biotechnol. 43, 1221–1226 (2025).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Patterson, A. M. et al. Ther. Adv. Rare Dis. 4, 26330040231164425 (2023).

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  3. Reichel, M. et al. Drug Discov. Today 30, 104298 (2025).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University Witten/Herdecke, Witten, Germany

    Marc Reichel & Hubert Trübel

  2. DEBRA Research gGmbH, Munich, Germany

    Eva M. Murauer, Martin Steiner, Christoph Coch & Hubert Trübel

Authors
  1. Marc Reichel
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Eva M. Murauer
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Martin Steiner
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Christoph Coch
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Hubert Trübel
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hubert Trübel.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Reichel, M., Murauer, E.M., Steiner, M. et al. Response to ‘Non-profits wade in where for-profit life science investment fears to tread’. Nat Biotechnol (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41587-025-02981-6

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Version of record:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41587-025-02981-6

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing: Translational Research

Sign up for the Nature Briefing: Translational Research newsletter — top stories in biotechnology, drug discovery and pharma.

Get what matters in translational research, free to your inbox weekly. Sign up for Nature Briefing: Translational Research