- Center on Health Equity & Access
- Clinical
- Health Care Cost
- Health Care Delivery
- Insurance
- Policy
- Technology
- Value-Based Care
Expanding Horizons: Launching a Rare Disease Nonprofit Amid Government Funding Challenges
Geri Landman, MD, MPH, cofounder and chair of Moonshots for Unicorns, talks about how the lack of government funding for PGAP3 research led her to take it upon herself to work toward a cure for her daughter.
In this installment of the "Expanding Horizons" series, Geri Landman, MD, MPH, cofounder and chair of Moonshots for Unicorns, pediatrician at Palo Alto Foundation Medical Group, addresses the challenges of insufficient government and pharmaceutical funding for rare diseases, and how Moonshots for Unicorns came to be as a response to those challenges.
Driven by the urgent need for treatments, especially for conditions like PGAP3, the nonprofit organization seeks to pioneer a pathway for single-gene conditions, with the ultimate goal of making research more accessible and affordable for families. Landman also advocates for a decentralized approach to government-sponsored research, proposing a model where funds directly empower existing patient organizations to accelerate the pace of finding cures for rare diseases.
According to Landman, "If government rare disease funding wants to be more useful to rare disease families, it has to pick up the pace."
Check out the first part of the "Expanding Horizons" feature series here. To learn more about Moonshots for Unicorns, visit www.moonshotsforunicorns.org
Integrated CKD Care Model Cuts ED Visits by 30%, Boosts Specialized Treatment
April 21st 2025An analysis of an interdisciplinary care model for managing chronic kidney disease (CKD) shows hospital admissions dropped by 26% and emergency department (ED) visits decreased by 30% after clinic initiation.
Read More
Personalized Care Key as Tirzepatide Use Expands Rapidly
April 15th 2025Using commercial insurance claims data and the US launch of tirzepatide as their dividing point, John Ostrominski, MD, Harvard Medical School, and his team studied trends in the use of both glucose-lowering and weight-lowering medications, comparing outcomes between adults with and without type 2 diabetes.
Listen
No Major Shifts in OBGYN Practice Locations Found Post Dobbs Decision
April 21st 2025Despite widespread concern following the Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision, researchers found no significant changes nationwide in obstetrician and gynecologist (OBGYN) practice locations.
Read More
Navigating Sport-Related Neurospine Injuries, Surgery, and Managed Care
February 25th 2025On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we speak with Arthur L. Jenkins III, MD, FACS, CEO of Jenkins NeuroSpine, to explore the intersection of advanced surgical care for sport-related neurospine injuries and managed care systems.
Listen
"The Barriers Are Real": Antoine Keller, MD, on Geography and Cardiovascular Health
April 18th 2025Health care disparities are often driven by where patients live, explained Antoine Keller, MD, as he discussed the complex, systematic hurdles that influence the health of rural communities.
Read More
