For the second year in a row, the Children’s Tumor Foundation neurofibromatosis research programs have been recognized and invited for presentation at the Partnering for Cures meeting, which takes place next week in New York. Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Kim Hunter-Schaedle will present in one of the invited “Innovator” slots on the morning of Wednesday December 15th. Partnering for Cures is organized by FasterCures, an organization formed under the auspices of the Milken Institute to unite non-profit entities focused on medical research in a forum for information exchange and building collaborations. This is the second year of the Partnering for Cures meeting, which aims to drive collaboration between non-profit medical research foundations, the pharma and biotech industry and federal agencies such as the FDA, and investors, in order to accelerate the identification of cures. Uniquely, at Partnering for Cures, it is the medical research foundations that take center stage, a recognition of the increasing central role of foundations in advancing research progress to the clinic. As well as two-days of presentations and panels, the meeting provides an opportunity for one-on-one meetings between potential future collaborators and partners. The CTF Innovator presentation will showcase the Neurofibromatosis Preclinical Consortium (NFPC) in which candidate drugs are assessed in preclinical models of NF1 and NF2 tumor types. NFPC has led to collaborations with companies including Novartis, Genentech and Avila Therapeutics. NFPC is CTF’s biggest investment since 2008 at over $4M, and which we are set to expand for a further two years at $3.5M 2011-2013.