Hyderabad, India–
The Max Foundation (Max) and Friends of Max (FOM) proudly announce the formalization of their long standing collaboration supporting people living with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) in India. The two organizations signed a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) at the recent Friends of Max 2015 Leadership Summit attended by Max CEO, Pat Garcia-Gonzalez in Hyderabad on April 19th.
Viji Venkatesh, Max’s Head of India shares an historical perspective, “In 2003, leaders of Max’s team in India and community leaders agreed to collaborate on providing free support services to families affected by CML and GIST in the country. This collaboration resulted in the formation of Friends of Max, a Charitable Trust registered with the Charities Commissioner’s Office in Mumbai. Today, we celebrate our MOU signing to enable greater support to people living with CML and GIST across the country.”
Pat Garcia-Gonzalez of Max remarks, “Since its inception, Friends of Max has served as the patient support arm of The Max Foundation. We are a united force. We are grateful for our partnership of so many years and full of hope as we look ahead to how much we can accomplish together.”
About Friends of Max
Friends of Max is a charitable trust registered in India comprised of individuals impacted directly and indirectly by chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST). With 18 chapters in cities across India, the trust aims to provide mutual support and education for its thousands of active members under the motto, “Together we share and learn”.
The Max Foundation is a leading global health nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating health equity. For 28 years, Max has pioneered practical, scalable, high-quality solutions to bring life-extending treatments and patient-centered health care to more than 100,000 people living with cancer and critical illness in low- and middle-income countries. Max believes in a world where all people can access high-impact medicines, where geography is not destiny, and where everyone can strive for health with dignity and with hope.
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February 21, 2018 · The Max Foundation and Dr. Jerry Radich of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center are partnering to help tackle the problem of access to accurate tests for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) diagnostics in low- and middle-income countries through Spot On CML. Spot On CML is a low-cost, paper-based diagnostic testing method for CML, developed by Dr. Radich’s lab at Fred Hutch. Through a Spot On CML test, a physician spots a patient’s blood onto a paper test card and sends it to Dr. Radich’s lab for processing, where they perform accurate diagnostic testing on the samples even after weeks of transport. Once patients are diagnosed, The Max Foundation connects them with available treatments free of charge.
