About Us

About CheckOrphan

CheckOrphan is a non-profit organization located in Basel, Switzerland and Santa Cruz, California that is dedicated to rare, orphan and neglected diseases. CheckOrphan offers users an interactive and dynamic platform for all these diseases. This strategy allows visitors to be updated daily on all the latest news and interact with people internationally. This is essential, because due to the nature of these diseases, there is not a large concentration of individuals within any given proximity.

Your Voice
One of the most frustrating aspects of these diseases is they often leave people affect by, or working with them, feeling isolated and without a voice.

With CheckOrphan you have a voice! Even more important, you are CheckOrphan.

CheckOrphan encourages its visitors to submit content (news articles, videos, links, etc.), in the belief that by providing a platform for shared information we can achieve more. Affected individuals and their friends, companies, organizations, foundations, researchers, physicians, government officials and other members of the community can submit content as often as they would like. By doing so, together, we can provide more information for future generations.

No Boundaries = Platform for All
CheckOrphan is not bound by political or geographical boundaries, which gives it the freedom to think and work globally with all individuals and potential partners. CheckOrphan is willing to collaborate with, and provide exposure for, any entity working for positive change in the field of rare diseases. If you have an idea and think CheckOrphan might be the platform for you to work with, please contact us. We are always interested in meeting new partners and supporters.

Commitment to Research
CheckOrphan believes that research is the key to innovation and will lead to more unique and cutting-edge treatments for rare, orphan and neglected diseases. Therefore the site endeavors to support the research community in any way possible.

Research does not take place in a vacuum. CheckOrphan believes that investing in more research into rare diseases will not only lead to rare disease solutions, but to solutions for more common diseases as well.

History

Launched in April 2007 as a subdomain of Checkbiotech, CheckOrphan soon became the leading source of news about rare, orphan and neglected diseases. Its news database holds the largest concentration of articles about rare diseases, with over 50,000 entries.

CheckOrphan moved to its own platform in January 2009, expanding to become a complete web platform for rare, orphan and neglected diseases. The site unites and empowers researchers, physicians, professionals and, most importantly, those affected by rare diseases so that they can initiate change.

The site’s users benefit from several large databases that include the latest research publications and clinical trials; products in development or currently on the market for rare, orphan and neglected diseases; videos; and more.

Current Features

  • News Articles
    • Treatment & Health – new products, clinical trials, nutrition, lifestyle tips, and more
    • Research – all the current news about research into rare diseases
    • People – what are the creative solutions people are coming up with when confronted by rare diseases? Inspired by the story of Lorenzo’s Oil, we want to empower people to bring about change and improvements
  • iWish – a way for people affected by, or working with, rare diseases to step forward and tell their stories through words and images.
  • Treatments – a database of products in development or on the market to treat and cure rare, orphan and neglected diseases.
  • Clinical Trials – a package of information about clinical trials supplied by pharmaceutical biotech organizations, hospitals and specialized research institutes
  • Videos – researchers, physicians and companies can educate people about rare diseases, and people with rare diseases can document their observations
  • Research Publications – informs patients, physicians and others about the latest research developments
  • Events – a large database of upcoming events concerning rare diseases

Support CheckOrphan

CheckOrphan is a non-profit organization with no political or corporate affiliations. It exists for the benefit of the global rare disease community, irrespective of geographical, political and cultural boundaries.

If your company or organization would like to support CheckOrphan in its causes, please feel free to contact us. We have many ways for people and entities to provide their support, which range from small, private donations to larger, multi-year projects. We also welcome people who would like to be spokespersons for CheckOrphan who are interested in opening doors for us with PR and/or fundraising efforts.

CheckOrphan would like to thank the Gebert Rüf Stiftung for its support. For more information about this foundation, please visit http://www.grstiftung.ch.

Board Members

CheckOrphan would like to thanks its Board Members for their contributions and support. It is always import to have people who believe in an important cause and have a long-term vision of what needs to be achieved. That embodies CheckOrphan’s Board Members. For more about these exceptional individuals, please view their profile pages.