Actelion Pharmaceuticals recently presented Cool Comedy – Hot Cuisine at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco.
Headlined by special musical guest The Goo Goo Dolls as well as comedians Bob Saget, Bill Bellamy, and George Lopez, the benefit for the Scleroderma Research Foundation also featured a multi-course dinner provided by Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken of Bravo TV’s Top Chef.
Sagat, who lost a sibling to the disease, praised the SRF for using the funds raised at these comedy and cuisine benefits to directly impact the lives of people living with the disease. There is no prevention plan or cure for scleroderma.

These events have been held not only in San Francisco but Las Vegas, New York, and Los Angeles and have significantly raised awareness around scleroderma and the SRF. The benefit included a cocktail reception, dinner, stand-up, and special musical performance not to mention various auctions. Tickets start at $250 and run up to $25,000 for a table of ten.

The Scleroderma Research Foundation, founded in 1987 by patient Sharon Monsky, was formed with the intention of using collaborative medical research to find a cure. The SRF now has access to scientists worldwide, all working on the goal of stopping, slowing, or reversing the disease’s process.


Photos by: Drew Altizer