Q&A

We fund research projects of excellence that aim to find treatments for genetic diseases. The high scientific quality of the research that we fund is the result of a rigorous selection process carried out by internationally renowned experts. The scientific results achieved thanks to these investments are internationally acknowledged and reflect the soundness of our methods of selection. To find out more about the Telethon research projects selection process, click here. 

We do not receive any government grants. Since 1998, our institutes have received significant funding for their research by Italian and international institutions dedicated to funding activities within the non-profit public benefit sector. These include the Italian Ministry of Education, Universities and Research, a number of bank foundations, the European Commission and the National Institutes of Health. For more information on Telethon Institutes, click here. 

Since 1990, Fondazione Telethon has allocated almost 528 million euros as funding for more than 2,630 scientific research projects. Thanks to Telethon’s unflagging efforts in this field, more than 570 genetic diseases have been studied and more than 12,700 articles reporting on the results of this work have been published in leading international scientific journals. The quality of the research produced by Telethon, acknowledged internationally, has led to the development of therapies for a number of rare diseases that had previously been considered incurable, such as ADA-SCID, metachromatic leukodystrophy and Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome. It has also contributed to improving the quality of life of patients with neuromuscular diseases and, thanks to the discovery of the genes responsible, has shed light on the conditions of patients with disorders that previously had no name. Year after year, the results of basic research and pre-clinical studies have allowed research funded by Telethon to progress towards the development of new therapies. Full details of Telethon’s activities, made possible thanks to the funds raised, are provided in the annual report and accounts. 

Every year, many companies decide to support our research in different ways. By including their names in our list of donors, we merely state how the donation will be used and inform the public of the company’s commitment to support Telethon. We assume responsibility for the conduct of companies that decide to support our research, not in its entirety but only to the extent of the activities and decisions that regard and involve our organisation and our mission. 

Telethon Foundation has decided to no longer grant any patronage, regardless of who applies for it, in view of the growing number of requests and the impossibility of evaluating them adequately on their merits. Patronage is a form of ideal adherence, on the part of an organization, to initiatives and events considered of importance and interest, and consistent with its mission. In recent years, we have received and granted numerous requests for patronage to patients' associations, research organizations, always free of charge, and other subjects involved in various ways in the field of rare genetic diseases. It was an absolute pleasure, since we considered it a recognition of the work done and the authority acquired in the field. We would like to emphasize that this decision does not go into the merits of individual initiatives and organizations. Rather, in this case, it depends on the impossibility of guaranteeing the rigour that we adopt in all our activities, from the evaluation of research projects to be funded to communication to our stakeholders.