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Why we do what we do

5 May 2014

In this issue of Scope, we wanted to share why we're here and our vision for the future.

Thanks to your support, we’ve received heightened interest in our immunology research from people in New Zealand and throughout the world.

There is an urgent need for new preventative health treatments. New Zealanders aged over 65 are projected to

increase from 587,000 in 2011 to 921,000 in 2026. With almost a million of us enjoying our later years by 2026, the need for health treatments that keep us active and healthy has never been greater.

All of us at the Malaghan Institute know the pain and heartache caused by diseases like cancer, asthma and allergy, arthritis and multiple sclerosis. We believe the key to beating these diseases lies in harnessing our immune system. We’re working hard to develop new treatments for our generation and the next.

Thanks to continually evolving immunology research at the Institute and around the world, we’re discovering new ways to tap into the immune system’s inherent disease-fighting

power to give us the upper hand. The most exciting part? The painful side effects of traditional treatments are far less likely with immunotherapies.

There is a constant race to develop biological insights into lifesaving treatments. However, there’s a lesson in immunotherapy’s recent successes - they emerged from

careful decoding of basic biology over many years. The support we have received over the past 30 years from people like you has enabled our scientists to unravel secrets of the immune system, helping us launch new cancer vaccine clinical trials in recent years.

The march of medical progress against disease is a test of our commitment and ability, and we thank you for joining us on this journey of discovery.

 

This article features in the May 2014 issue of our Scope newsletter (Issue 53).  Download the full newsletter here - 506 KB (PDF)