The creation of the non-profit VR Foundation was inspired by an active teen-age girl who was diagnosed with vitiligo at an early age. When her father, Dmitry Aksenov, discovered that there was no effective treatment for vitiligo, he set out to expedite therapy development for this debilitating skin disease.

Although his life experiences are far away from medical research or biotechnology, after years of desperate search for treatment, he has come to the realization that the poor efficiency of existing treatments is a direct result of the lack of funding for vitiligo research. The abysmal state of funding also discourages new researchers who, instead, gravitate to where the money is, leaving a potential gaping hole in future vitiligo research programs. 

Mr. Dmitry Aksenov had for many years donated to a variety of social and humanitarian causes – but the establishment of the VR Foundation in 2011 was his first major contribution to the field of medical research. Working with best researchers, Dmitry has seen how researchers are trying diligently to unlock the secrets unique to this skin disease, and many areas are still left under-investigated. 

Foundation's CEO Yan Valle, who has been living with vitiligo for over 30 years, is now using his cross-border knowledge of IT and healthcare to reform a system for medical research and drug development that has failed to produce new patient treatments for millions living with this debilitating disease.