Buffalo Charge in a Storm
Most animals retreat in a storm. The buffalo behaves differently.
When most wild animals sense an incoming storm, they attempt to outrun the danger. They generally turn to run away from the storm, but unknowingly increase their exposure as they continue to travel in the same direction as the storm overhead—never outrunning it.
The way Buffalo react to an incoming storm is different and unique in the animal kingdom. Buffalo wait for the storm to cross the ridge of a mountaintop. Just as the storm approaches, Buffalo turn and charge directly into the storm. By herding to face the storm head-on, they actually minimize the time spent in the storm. That’s exactly what we’re doing with this initiative—charging straight at the hardest problems in rare disease, starting with brain biology and the genetic drivers of intellectual disability, epilepsy and autism (IDEA disorders)—together.
Revolutionizing Drug Development from the Ground Up
While scientific breakthroughs have made IDEA disorders more biologically tractable than
ever, most remain without treatment due to a persistent market failure in early-stage drug
development. In response, patient communities have stepped up by launching foundations,
funding research, and building datasets. More patient-led groups have formed in the past
five years than in the previous fifty, but they often lack the capital and infrastructure to scale. Buffalo Initiative is changing that.