When a doctor delivered a devastating diagnosis to Pat Furlong for her two sons with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, she refused to sit by and watch them slowly die. She marched off to Washington to corner her Senator and the director of the National Institutes of Health, borrowed money to fund her sudden role as a patient advocate, and brought together academic researchers to get them thinking on how they could tackle the disease. We spoke to Furlong, founding president and CEO of Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy, about her experiences, what patient advocates can do to raise awareness for their causes, and how they should think about best leveraging their investments.
This is an encore presentation of our April 2015 interview with Furlong.
Daniel S. Levine is an award-winning business journalist who has reported on the life sciences, economic development, and business policy issues throughout his 25-year career. He founded Levine Media Group in 2013 to provide strategic communications to life sciences companies. He is host of The Bio Report and RARECast podcasts, a senior fellow at the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest, and a member of the advisory board of the California Biotechnology Council.
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