INAUGURAL LEVERAGED FINANCE FIGHTS MELANOMA LONDON RAISES £1.4 MILLION BENEFITING THE MELANOMA RESEARCH ALLIANCE

LONDON, Feb. 4, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The leveraged finance and private equity communities came together on 29 January 2025 for the inaugural Leveraged Finance Fights Melanoma (LFFM) London benefit and cocktail party at The National Gallery. Building on the success of the flagship event in New York City, the London benefit for the Melanoma Research Alliance (MRA) marked a significant milestone in expanding the LFFM franchise into an international platform, with over 600 attendees and raising £1.4 million to support MRA's investments in UK-based scientists pursuing high impact, lifesaving melanoma research.

"This expansion reflects the global commitment of the leveraged finance and private equity communities in driving innovation in cancer research," said Jeff Rowbottom, LFFM co-founder and MRA Board member. "LFFM events offer hope to everyone affected by cancer – patients, survivors, and their loved ones – by ensuring researchers have the necessary resources to continue accelerating lifesaving discoveries."

"The £1.4M raised by LFFM London will have a transformative impact on our mission," said Stephanie Kauffman, president of the Melanoma Research Alliance. "This generous support allows us to continue our investments in brilliant UK-based researchers providing them with crucial resources they need to push the boundaries of melanoma research, driving forward innovations that bring us closer to a cure and improve patient outcomes in the UK and around the world."

LFFM was founded in 2011 by Brendan Dillon (Veritas Capital) and Jeff Rowbottom (General Atlantic Credit), who were both diagnosed with melanoma. Since then, it has raised more than £22 million to support MRA's ambitious melanoma research agenda.   

The event was co-chaired by Roxana Mirica (Apax Partners), Valeria Mollova (Apollo), Leo Wouters (General Atlantic), Sean Costello (Fitch), and Tara Moore (Golub Capital).

The event host committee included: Peter Atkinson (HPS), Ian Barratt (Kirkland & Ellis), Juan Campos (Hg Capital), Mike Carruthers (Blackstone Credit),  Conor Daly (CIFC), Phil Edmans (Inflexion), John Empson (CVC Credit), Colin Harley (White & Case), Todd Hooper (HPS), Akshat Khaitan (KKR Capital Markets), Simona Maellare (UBS), Dipish Rai (Termgrid), Neel Sachdev (Paul Weiss), Chris Scott (Carlyle), Stephen Smith (Sona), Rich Trobman (Latham & Watkins), Peter Urquhart (London Stock Exchange Group) and David Witkin PSP Investments.

The evening was sponsored by industry leading giants with Global LFFM Partners including Veritas Capital, Paul Weiss, Kirkland & Ellis, Latham & Watkins, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, Apollo|MidCap, HPS, General Atlantic, Golub Capital, Fitch Ratings, White & Case.  

Platinum sponsors included Apax, Goldman Sachs, Houlihan Lokey, Paul Hastings, Proskauer, Sidley Austin, and Weil Gotshal & Manges.

Gold Sponsors included A&O Sherman, Bank of America, CIFC, Clifford Chance, Debevoise & Plimpton, Freshfields, Gibson Dunn, HSBC, Investindustrial, Linklaters, Milbank, Oak Hill Advisors, Ropes & Gray, SMBC, Sona Asset Management, and UBS.

Preferred Sponsors included Ares Management, Blue Owl, CVC, Citi, Cravath, DavisPolk, Golden Tree Asset Management, Jeffries, MV Credit, Moelis, Park Square, RBC Capital Markets and Termgrid.

Advocate Sponsors included 3i Group, AlbaCore, Alcentra, Ashurst, Barings, Blackstone, Brigade Capital Management, Cahill, Carlyle, Credit Agricole, Deutsche Bank, ICG, Investcorp, KKR, King & Spalding, King Street, Macquarie, Oaktree, PSP Investments, Permira Credit, Polus Capital Management, Tikehau Capital, Willkie Farr & Gallagher and Wilmington Trust. 

About Melanoma Research Alliance (MRA)
The Melanoma Research Alliance (MRA) stands as the largest non-profit, non-governmental funder of melanoma research. Founded in 2007 by Debra and Leon Black, MRA's mission is to end suffering and death due to melanoma by advancing the world's most promising science and research. MRA provides critical funding for melanoma cancer research that propels advances in prevention, diagnosis, treatment, metastasis, and survivorship. MRA-funded researchers have been behind every major melanoma research breakthrough. Since MRA's inception, more than 17 new therapeutic approaches for melanoma have earned FDA (Food and Drug Administration) approval. MRA is recognized as one of the most fiscally efficient non-profits in the world. Because the Black Family generously underwrites 100% of MRA's administrative and operating costs, every dollar donated is invested directly into MRA's scientific and research program. For more information, please visit: www.CureMelanoma.org.

Media Contacts:
KWT Global
mra@kwtglobal.com 

Dana Deighton, MRA Director, Communications & Engagement
ddeighton@curemelanoma.org

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