Eurydice Keller | NGO | medical R&D | Switzerland
MFDW is an NGO whose headquarters are based in Geneva in Switzerland. Its role is to raise money in order to assist in the development of new drugs for illnesses defined as being rare, and for which the therapeutic arsenal is lacking. We met their financial controller, Eurydice Keller.
The NGO ‘Medication & Care for the World’s Forgotten Diseases and People’ (MFDW) was created 25 years ago in Switzerland by its founding partners, doctors, former pharmaceutical companies and institutional investors, who had gathered together to find a practical solution to the frustration of doctors worldwide struggling with medicines that were ineffective, dangerous, unavailable, unaffordable, or which had never even been developed! The daughter and granddaughter of doctors, Eurydice Keller, financial controller at MFDW in Geneva (Switzerland) chose to join MFDW’s adventure through the values that she shared with the NGO: “Millions of people throughout the world were dying every year through lack of treatment, and only a fraction of global pharmaceutical research and development was focusing on these illnesses affecting poor and vulnerable communities. Something had to be done! MFDW equipped itself with the means to change things for millions of people throughout the world.”
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), it is estimated that 1 drug in every 10 in circulation in low or middle income countries is either of lower quality or falsified. “Counterfeit drugs represent a genuine risk to people. Patients are taking medicines which cannot treat or even prevent illness. It is a waste of money for the people and health systems that buy these products, but medical products that are of lower quality or falsified can also lead to serious illnesses or even death, and it is also in this area that it is the most vulnerable communities which are the first to be affected by this black market. Providing safe treatments to these economically vulnerable populations is one of our core missions.”
Research and medicines for the world’s forgotten patients
The NGO has set itself the task of exploring a new, not-for-profit, alternative model for the development of medicines intended for neglected patients. “Our purpose is to discover, develop and supply new drugs in order to develop treatments for patients that are neglected all over the world”, explains Eurydice. “They also must be affordable and appropriate for patients. Our initiative has already enabled us to save millions of lives. Every member of the organisation is proud of helping to make the world a better place, each of them in their own way.”
Acting every day in the public interest
MFDW is still driven by the public sector, with a wide range of stakeholders working together in order to raise awareness about the necessity of researching and developing drugs and medicines for neglected illnesses which fall outside the scope of market-oriented research and development. “We take action in the public interest to fill the existing gaps in respect of R&D on essential medicines for these illnesses”, Eurydice points out. “We are launching and co-ordinating R&D projects on medicines in association with the international research community, the public sector, but also the pharmaceutical industry.” The illnesses which MFDW’s work relates to are human African trypanosomiasis and visceral leishmaniasis, among others. It will develop diagnostics but also vaccines to respond to unfulfilled needs which the traditional pharmaceutical companies cannot (or don’t want to) support. “MFDW is putting in place R&D networks built upon worldwide cooperation, while also relying on support capabilities in countries where the illnesses are endemic. Our work is constantly evolving according to healthcare needs… the crux of the issue is still undoubtedly funding, which is crucial to providing assistance in the field and pursuing research.” Everything starts with campaigns to raise awareness. The objective is to increase awareness and generate donors’ interest in order to raise funds to support the research and development of treatments. “We are setting our sights on two separate targets: institutional investors and wealthy companies, as well as the private individual. In Switzerland, it’s the first of these that interests us. We are therefore dealing with significant amounts which form the basis of complicated contracts. And for several years, as part of our development, we have also been raising funds in various regions of the world from private individuals for smaller amounts”, Euridyce explains. Here, the strategy is radically different since these ‘small’ payments don’t need to be formalised through a contract.
‘Recruiting’ donors and gaining their trust
“When we decided to broaden our reach, several questions were asked such as ‘How do we recruit donors?’, ‘How do we gain their trust?’, and ‘How do we also make their donation experiences smooth to encourage them to donate?’… obviously, the Internet was our greatest ally. For us, the transaction needed to be able to be carried out online, as simply as possible, like with the purchase of an item.” As its special starting privileges, it needed as few clicks to ‘pay’, and as little data to be entered as possible: “We needed a solution that made things easier which doesn’t bore you and which doesn’t make you want to backtrack. That’s important, because giving is not exactly the same as buying something which you really want! At any time, if the experience becomes complex – even slightly – you soon close the windows and put the good deed which you were signing up to off until later (if at all).”
Of course, we also needed a payment system that is familiar and secure: “The trust factor is essential, especially after the affairs which have damaged the non-profit sector these last few years. If knowing where money will be spent is a key driver of transformation, the integrity of the payment method is just as important.”
Making membership easier for a good cause
And Eurydice adds: “We work with several currencies, and it is crucial that we are able to raise money from any account around the world into one of our local accounts.” Because every euro, every real, every dirham, and every dollar counts. “We have also put in place a subscription system to make life easier for regular donors. It’s advantageous for us as it allows us to have recurring payments, but also for those who want to sign up to donate without repeating the process online. It all comes with another benefit for us finance-wise – specifically the administration, which is made easier because the individual donations are separated from the institutional investors under contract.”
STORYLINE:
We met Eurydice Keller (Geneva, Switzerland), who is in charge of financing a foundation created 25 years ago to support the development of new molecules for rare and neglected diseases for which there is no effective treatment. She talks about the reasons for her commitment to a non-governmental organization, the deep meaning she gives to her work, and her pride in working for the common good. She wants as many people as possible to be able to contribute to the eradication of diseases in the world’s most vulnerable populations through donations. Eurydice Keller emphasizes that funding is essential to continue research and assistance in the field. Awareness-raising campaigns and the flow of donations are therefore essential to attract donors’ attention.
WHO?
In Geneva (Switzerland), Eurydice Keller*, daughter and granddaughter, and very sensitive to the cause of Médecins Sans Frontières, has put her talents as a management controller at the service of an international NGO that carries out R&D to develop drugs and treatments for those often forgotten diseases for disadvantaged people.
FOR WHOM?
To give leads to encourage donations in the humanitarian field
WHAT DOES SHE CARE ABOUT?
Helping to make the world a better place by encouraging large groups and individuals to donate to support her NGO
METHOD USED
A detailed article that switches between portrait and storytelling to understand her sources written by an economic journalist.