According to the Pharma 2.0 Blog, “Bristol-Myers Squibb provided unrestricted funding to facilitate the launch of a new site for women with advanced breast cancer“.

The Advanced Breast Cancer Community launched in early September offering both an information gateway and social network for the advanced/metastatic breast cancer community…
As one user commented, “Early on in my diagnosis I perused many Internet sites that just left me more confused, scared and depressed than I already was. So I gave up looking. Until something brought me to this site just yesterday. What a great place. I can tell already that this is the place where I want to hang out.”

The site was built by Inspire which “…builds and manages online communities in which thousands of patients, family members and caregivers support and communicate with one another in safe, secure, privacy- protected environments“.

Most Inspire communities are built for free and operate under the auspices of some of the most respected nonprofit health organizations in the US. Our nonprofit partners include such distinguished organizations as the ALS Association, Arthritis Foundation, Lung Cancer Alliance, National Organization of Rare Disorders, and the National Osteoporosis Foundation, among others.

I think it’s a really good sign that pharmaceutical companies are starting to recognize the value and importance that online communities and other social media efforts can have in supporting patients, caregivers, and even healthcare professionals.

In fact, this isn’t first unrestricted grant that I’ve heard of from a pharma company to a non-profit social media initiative. Just a few weeks ago at the Digital Pharma conference, I was speaking with Matt Zachary — Founder and CEO of I’m Too Young For This (i2y) — who told me that Novartis Oncology had provided an unrestricted grant to them for their on and off -line initiatives that support young adults affected by cancer. Looks like they also got support from MGI Pharma, GSK, Schering-Plough and a bunch other non-pharma related organizations (including Heineken!!!).

Here’s a list of various i2y programs that tries to help “…empower young adults affected by cancer by ending isolation, improving quality of life and providing meaningful survivorship“:

• young adult organizations
• scholarships and financial aid
• online forums and chat rooms
• excursions and retreats
• web2.0 social networks
• young adult blogosphere
• coping literature
• books, mags, films and media
• advocacy tools
• cancer creative

Considering that the i2y slogan and campaign is “Stupid Cancer”, you would think that traditionalists would exclude them from funding or even a consideration just by the mere fact that it’s not titled something more “professional” or that many of their efforts are based in social media. So I’m really glad to see that neither the social media aspect nor the slogan has turned off support for this truly important network — well done to the funding bodies for not letting these issues get in the way of initiatives that really work and really support a good cause!