Our why

At No Patient Left Behind, we want to make sure everyone gets the medicines they need at prices they can afford. We share your anger over anyone having to choose between going broke or going without.

That could seem confusing, given our origins. NPLB was founded by RA Capital Management, a Boston-based firm that invests in companies developing drugs, medical devices and diagnostics. You would think they'd want higher prices. You might even wonder whether we're just a front to help investors make more money.

We could (and do) deny it, but that's ultimately for you to decide.

We know we'll win your trust. We know that being backed by one of the most experienced biotechnology investment teams in the world gives NPLB the brains, means, and muscle to call out the healthcare system and push for reforms that will actually make a difference to patients.

It might interest you to know that RA Capital's team is made up mostly of trained scientists. They've worn the white coats and worked in laboratories. Some come from medicine. All got into this to cure illnesses and solve diseases, and that's still what they spend most of their days thinking about. Only now they're analyzing hundreds of experiments others are doing and deciding which ones to fund. That's how innovation happens and new medicines are made.

RA Capital co-founder Peter Kolchinsky concedes that he used to accept the fact that not all patients would get the medicines his funding decisions helped bring to market. For years, he assumed that others would fix patients' insurance challenges and create a system to ensure that all drugs eventually go generic – two essential fixes that would make medicines affordable.

That didn't happen. So Peter started writing extensively on the subject and pulling together the team that would become NPLB. We use what we know about the healthcare system as insiders to challenge and ultimately shift the status quo in patients' favor.

RA Capital will continue to fund biomedical innovation as long as there are diseases left to treat. This benefits patients, too.

Research is risky. Science is expensive.
The cost of progress should be borne by society. Acting on that belief is not a conflict. It's a cause.

Did you know?

Increasing out-of-pocket costs by just $10 per prescription causes a 33% rise in mortality because fewer patients take the drugs their doctors prescribe.

Source: National Bureau of Economic Research, https://www.nber.org/papers/w28439Get involved