LEXINGTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jeffrey Tarrant, entrepreneur, hedge fund investor, philanthropist, and brain cancer survivor, has agreed to join the Board of Directors of the Global Coalition for Adaptive Research (GCAR), a non-profit organization working to speed the discovery and development of cures for rare and deadly diseases starting with one of the most deadly brain cancers - glioblastoma (GBM).

“We are very excited to have someone of Jeffrey’s stature join our board,” stated Faramarz Yousefzadeh, Chairman of the Board of Directors. “His business experience, reputation as a respected social entrepreneur and most importantly his patient voice, will add tremendous value to the diverse capabilities of our board.”

Jeffrey Tarrant, founder and chairman of MOV37 and Protégé Partners, has more than three decades of experience picking emerging talent. Prior to founding MOV37 and Protégé Partners, Jeffrey managed institutional size alternative investments for private family fortunes and was a member of the board of The Investment Fund for Foundations. Jeffrey is known for investing in and seeding emerging managers, many of whom have become renowned names in the industry. During this time, Jeffrey also created Altvest (now a division of Morning Star), the hedge fund industry’s first Internet-based commercial database and analytics systems.

Diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor in 2017, Jeffrey received the standard of care and then sought additional treatments in the U.S. and abroad. Unfortunately, Jeffrey knows first-hand how dire the situation is for GBM patients. Treatment options and patient outcomes have remained largely unchanged over several decades and there is no known cure. 95% of patients succumb within five years of diagnosis with more than half dying within the first 15 months after diagnosis.

GBM AGILE, sponsored by GCAR, is a game-changer for neuro-oncology as the world’s first global “adaptive” clinical trial for GBM. It was first conceived in 2015 by an international group of more than 130 clinicians, researchers, biostatisticians, imagers, pathologists, patient advocates, and leaders from government and industry. The trial is designed to more rapidly identify effective therapies for patients with glioblastoma through response-adaptive randomization and a seamless phase 2/3 design.

“As a long-time entrepreneur and now a brain cancer survivor, I am very impressed with this team and so pleased to see a patient-centered solution to solving this disease. As a patient, I can’t afford to wait – GBM AGILE will get breakthrough medicines to patients like me faster than standard clinical trial designs. I believe so deeply in this platform that in addition to joining the board, my family and I have made a significant funding commitment to the project.”

Jeffrey was recently inducted into the 2018 HFM InvestHedge Hall of Fame, which recognizes the innovative contributions of prominent hedge fund investors. Jeffrey was founder and director of ARK, (Absolute Return for Kids), a U.K. based charity with a mission to transform the lives of children. He is currently a director of WITNESS, a global human rights organization, and he is on the advisory board of The Angiogenesis Foundation. Jeffrey’s philanthropic efforts include active support for many award-winning social issue documentary films. Jeffrey Tarrant is a graduate of Harvard Business School and University of California, Davis.

“GBM AGILE is an important step forward for glioblastoma and patients who desperately need new options. As a more accurate and faster way to evaluate new drugs, we hope to ease the burden of development in glioblastoma and invite more activity in the space. The long history of failure underscores the need for a radical transformation on how drugs are brought forward into clinical testing. We now have a solution and must act now, patients like Jeffrey are counting on us,” stated Dr. Tim Cloughesy, GCAR’s Chief Medical Officer and GBM AGILE’s principal investigator.

About Global Coalition for Adaptive Research

The Global Coalition for Adaptive Research (GCAR) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit charitable organization, comprised of some of the world’s foremost physicians, clinical researchers and investigators united in expediting the discovery and development of cures for patients with rare and deadly diseases. As its first priority, GCAR is sponsoring GBM AGILE, an adaptive platform trial for patients with glioblastoma (GBM) – the deadliest and most common of malignant primary brain tumors. It is GCAR’s vision is to expand and replicate what is learned using this innovative model for glioblastoma to benefit patients with other rare and deadly diseases. To learn more about GCAR, visit our website at: www.gcaresearch.org and join us by following us: @GCAResearch and www.facebook.com/GCAResearch