The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation

After years of battling to drum up private sector interest in a disease that afflicts only 25,000-30,000 Americans, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation decided to take matters into its own hands. In doing so, it is charting new territory for disease-related charities. No longer content with making only small grants to academic institutions, the foundation has cut deals with biotechs that have it looking very much like a drug or biotech company itself, including significant alliances with Aurora Biosciences and Altus Biologics.