SIRUM (Supporting Initiatives to Redistribute Unused Medicine) is the largest distributor of surplus medication in the United States. ^{1 2} As of April 2024, the organization has received more than 2 million prescriptions through 37,000 donations. ³

In 2020, SIRUM was one of 116 organizations that received a driving change grant from left-of-center philanthropist MacKenzie Scott, the ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. ⁴

History and Leadership

SIRUM (Supporting Initiatives To Redistribute Unused Medicine) was founded in 2009 at Stanford University. ⁵ In 2011, SIRUM received tax-exempt status from the Internal Revenue Service. ⁶

As of April 2024, SIRUM is led by its co-founders, Adam Kircher, George Wang, and Kiah Williams. ^{7 8}

Prior to founding SIRUM, Kircher was a management consultant at McKinsey and Company. Wang has pushed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to encourage facilities to work with SIRUM and also works as a liaison with the National Conference of State Legislatures on drug-donation programs. Williams previously worked at the left-of-center Clinton Foundation, where she led the negotiations for the Clinton Foundation and American Heart Association to create the Alliance Healthcare Initiative. She has also worked as a community organizer for the NAACP and at the Alliance for a Healthier Generation. ^{9 10 11 12}

Activities and Funding

SIRUM is the largest distributor of surplus medication in the United States. Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, ¹³ and incubated at Stanford University, SIRUM receives donated surplus prescription drugs and then routes them through SIRUM’s network of pharmacy partners to get medications to lower-income and needy patients. ¹⁴

SIRUM uses its technology to connect surplus medicine from commercial pharmacies, individuals, and health facilities with clinics and charitable pharmacies. SIRUM also operates a nonprofit pharmacy and coordinates the logistics, tracking, and shipping of its surplus drugs. ¹⁵

As of April 2024, the organization has received more than 2 million prescriptions through 37,000 donations and claims to have helped more than 150,000 patients gain access to its surplus drugs. ¹⁶ The organization aims to increase its capacity to support 1 million patients by 2029. ¹⁷

SIRUM is affiliated with Charitable Returns, Good Pill Pharmacy, and Surplus RX .¹⁸

Funding

SIRUM receives funding from individual contributions and grants. ¹⁹ In 2022, the organization reported revenue of $33,807,072 and expenses of $35,453,124. SIRUM reported revenue of $36,792,276 and expenses of $32,177,686 in 2021. ²⁰

As of 2024, SIRUM’s funding partners include Aetna Health, Brisson Family Fund, Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation, Fast Forward, Georgia Health Foundation, Gina Sanders, Goldman Sachs, Hearst Foundations, MacKenzie Scott, Nasiri Foundation, PagerDuty, Paul Graham, Pivotal Ventures, Reid Hoffman, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Valhalla Foundation, and the Westly Foundation. ²¹

In 2020, SIRUM was named as one of the 116 organizations driving change by left-of-center philanthropist MacKenzie Scott, the ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. ²² SIRUM received a grant from Scott as a part of this distinction. ²³

In 2019, SIRUM received $329,000 from the left-of-center Silicon Valley Community Foundation, ²⁴ $45,161 from Ffwd, ²⁵ and an additional grant from the Denver Foundation. ²⁶

SIRUM has received other grants from Echoing Green ²⁷ and the Philanthropic Ventures Foundation. ²⁸

1. “Supporting Initiatives to Redistribute Unused Medicine – SIRUM.” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990). 2022. Part I. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/271103057/202303209349301010/full.
2. “Saving Medicine, Saving Lives.” SIRUM YouTube Channel. Uploaded July 20, 2023. Accessed April 27, 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_n537IvSmM&t=17s.
3. “SIRUM.” LinkedIn Profile. Accessed April 27, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/company/sirum/about/.
4. “X Post.” SIRUM X Profile. Posted July 30, 2020. Accessed April 27, 2024. https://twitter.com/sirum/status/1288844124959932422.
5. “SIRUM.” Crunchbase. Accessed April 27, 2024. https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/sirum.
6. “Determination Letter.” Department of Treasury Internal Revenue Service. 2011. Accessed April 27, 2024. https://apps.irs.gov/app/eos/details/.
7. “About Us.” SIRUM. Accessed April 27, 2024. https://sirum.org/about-us/.
8. “Supporting Initiatives to Redistribute Unused Medicine – SIRUM.” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990). 2022. Part VII. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/271103057/202303209349301010/full.
9. “About Us.” SIRUM. Accessed April 27, 2024. https://sirum.org/about-us/.
10. “Kiah Williams.” LinkedIn Profile. Accessed April 27, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/kiahjw/.
11. “Adam Kircher.” LinkedIn Profile. Accessed April 27, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-s-kircher-b87532a/.
12. “George Wang.” LinkedIn Profile. Accessed April 27, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/george-wang-77188312/.
13. “Supporting Initiatives to Redistribute Unused Medicine – SIRUM.” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990). 2022. Part I. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/271103057/202303209349301010/full.
14. “Saving Medicine, Saving Lives.” SIRUM YouTube Channel. Uploaded July 20, 2023. Accessed April 27, 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_n537IvSmM&t=17s.
15. “Supporting Initiatives to Redistribute Unused Medicine – SIRUM.” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990). 2022. Part III. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/271103057/202303209349301010/full.
16.  “SIRUM.” LinkedIn Profile. Accessed April 27, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/company/sirum/about/.
17.  “About Us.” SIRUM. Accessed April 24, 2024. https://sirum.org/about-us/.
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19. “Support Our Work.” SIRUM. Accessed April 24, 2024. https://sirum.org/support-our-work/.
20. “Supporting Initiatives to Redistribute Unused Medicine – SIRUM.” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990). 2022. Part I. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/271103057/202303209349301010/full.
21. “Support Our Work.” SIRUM. Accessed April 24, 2024. https://sirum.org/support-our-work/.
22. “X Post.” SIRUM X Profile. Posted July 30, 2020. Accessed April 27, 2024. https://twitter.com/sirum/status/1288844124959932422.
23. Scott, MacKenzie. “116 Organizations Driving Change.” Medium. July 28, 2020. Accessed April 27, 2024. https://mackenzie-scott.medium.com/116-organizations-driving-change-67354c6d733d.
24.  “Silicon Valley Community Foundation.” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990). 2019. Schedule I. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/205205488/202003199349301770/full.
25. “FFWD.” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990). 2019. Schedule I. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/464626500/202022599349302127/full.
26. “Denver Foundation.” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990). 2019. Schedule I. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/846048381/202043219349309164/full.
27. “Echoing Green.” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990). 2015. Schedule I. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/133424419/201711309349303366/full.
28. “Philanthropic Ventures Foundation.” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990). 2014. Schedule I. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/943136771/201533169349303963/full.