Contact
Daniel Levine
Principal
(510) 280-5405
danny@levinemediagroup.com
November 22, 2016
RARE Webinar: Transition of Care: Planning for Care for Children with a Rare Disease
As caregivers age, preparing for your loved one’s future can be daunting. It may be difficult for both you and the loved one in your care as you both transition into new roles and new chapters in your life. How do you plan for care for your adult child living with a rare disease–both physically and financially. This webinar will discuss topics such as housing, financial planning, social support, and emotional obstacles to help you manage these life changes.
October 5, 2016
Precision Medicine Initiative: Significance for the Rare Disease Community
Discussion from the Global Genes Rare Patient Adovcacy Summit
September, 26, 2016
Neat, Plausible, and Wrong
Why the focus on intellectual property fails to address the complexities of medicinal access in India
Lack of access to medicines in the developing world continues to represent an often neglected health crisis that causes unnecessary suffering, illness, and death from treatable diseases. Sadly, though, the AIDS crisis that called attention to the millions of people who faced problems getting access to needed medicines has defined the problem as a need to strike balance between intellectual property rights and trade policies on one side and public health and human rights on the other. Framing of the access to medicines problem as solely a function of intellectual property rights continues to take attention away from meaningful solutions to improve access to medicines in low- and middle-income countries. The recently released report of the United Nations Secretary-General’s High Level Panel on Access to Medicines continues down this same path by focusing on the narrow aspect of patents as the obstacle. Stephen Sammut and Daniel Levine recently completed a report that centered on India as the case study for medicinal access. They focused on India because the issues for the country are acute, but ironically, India has the most developed capacity for the production of medicines in the world, and actively exports its products globally. They reviewed nearly 170 studies for the report. They paint a picture that demands a re-thinking of the problem of medicinal access well beyond patenting. The solutions to the composite of issues confronting medicinal access are each elusive in their own right, but addressing any one factor without addressing the others will not.
September 13, 2016
Crop Enhancement Secures $8.5M in Series B Funding to Help Farmers Sustainably Increase Crop Yield While Minimizing or Eliminating Pesticide Use
CAMBRIDGE, MA--(Marketwired - Sep 13, 2016) - Crop Enhancement Inc., an innovator of sustainable chemistry formulations for agriculture applications, has closed $8.5 million in a Series B financing. MLS Capital Fund II (co-managed by Spruce Capital Partners and Xeraya Capital) and 1955 Capital co-led the round, with additional financing from Bandgap Ventures. Original investor Phoenix Venture Partners also participated. As part of the transaction, Greg Young from Spruce Capital Partners and Andrew Chung from 1955 Capital joined Crop Enhancement's board of directors.
August 9, 2016
Keys to Effectively Communicate with Health Care Providers
Do you ever find it difficult to inform your physician about your rare disease–from symptoms to research to finding support to cope with your diagnosis? Navigating communication between you and your healthcare team at times can be challenging, but working together is important in your rare disease journey. This Webinar will offer insight from both the healthcare provider and patient perspective on how to effectively discuss your rare disease and build a strong healthcare team together.
June 21, 2016
Strategies for Effective Fundraising
Fundraising is a top priority for any foundation or organization delivering programs and services to the rare disease community. The world of fundraising contains a variety of avenues to pursue, but how do you make your organization stand out from the crowd? This webinar will walk through some best practices for applying for grants, creating fundraising events and building an individual donor base.
June 2, 2016
Treos Bio, Developer of Precision Cancer Vaccines, Emerges from Stealth"Bethesda, Maryland — June 2, 2016 — Treos Bio, Inc., which is developing precision cancer vaccines paired to companion diagnostics, emerged from stealth mode today and announced the appointment of Dr. Menghis Bairu as Executive Chairman of the company.
April 26, 2016
Understanding Gene Therapy
Scientific discovery is advancing rapidly, and new frontiers in gene therapy may yield promise for new rare disease treatments. You may have heard the term gene therapy and even know a little bit about the science, but this webinar will cover all the basics and walk through the potential impact on the rare disease community, including case study examples of collaborations between companies and patient advocacy groups.
January 4, 2016
Spruce Capital Partners and MLS Capital Fund II Name Industry Veteran Jonathan Burbaum as Entrepreneur-in-Residence
SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwired - Jan 4, 2016) - Spruce Capital Partners, LLC, a leading venture capital firm and co-manager of the Malaysian Life Sciences Capital Fund I and MLS Capital Fund II, today said it named Dr. Jonathan Burbaum an entrepreneur-in-residence. Dr. Burbaum will evaluate opportunities to initiate new businesses for MLS Capital Fund II.