LabCures – crowdfunding for biomedicine
A new commercial company LabCures, created by employees of the Institute for the Study of Aging of the Tank, plans to raise money for biomedical research using the Internet.
Taking as a basis the principles of crowdfunding sites, such as petridish.org and experiment.com the creators of the company have developed their own system that will allow financing the work of only qualified scientists and optimize the targeted financing of medical research.
Currently, LabCures invites various US research institutions, ranging from institutes and universities to non-profit organizations, to host projects on the new platform. According to Brian Kennedy, chief executive officer of the Buck Institute, the purpose of this is to exclude competition of projects offered by research organizations with enthusiasts embodying their ideas "in the garage".
The second significant difference between LabCures is the approach to project financing. Traditionally, funds collected through crowdfunding are withdrawn from the accounts of donors and transferred to the applicant only if the stated goal has been achieved. On the LabCures platform, donations will be withdrawn instantly using the Braintree payment system. As a reward, LabCures will keep 9% of the donated amount.
Each of the participating projects will be presented with a video dedicated to the planned research work. In addition, the placement of additional 1-minute videos dedicated to each of the scientists who are the direct executors of the work is welcome. The developers of the platform believe that this will allow potential donors to better get into the ideas that inspire talented young people who are still unknown to the general public.
One of the reasons for the growing interest in crowdfunding is the significant decline in funding for biomedical research observed in the United States since 2003. Kennedy notes that he does not expect large individual donations. The purpose of creating a new project is to provide each person with the opportunity to make a feasible contribution to the development of the most interesting area of biomedical research.
Evgeniya Ryabtseva
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru based on NOVATO materials:
New Buck Institute spinoff will use Internet to solicit donations for medical research.
19.08.2014