BrainTrusters: Rules of the Game

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Rules of the Game

Membership is required for participation in BrainTrusters: Cancer Clinical Trial Prediction Market.
Membership is limited exclusively to members of the Cancer Biology & Therapy Editorial Board and the postdocs and graduate students in their labs.
Membership is by invitation only and is limited to 500 BrainTrusters at any one time.
All BrainTrusters must agree to the Conflict of Interest statement and agree to recuse themselves from prediction markets as necessary.
Those who wish to become a BrainTruster may apply for membership.
Applications will be reviewed and applicants may remain on a waiting list before being invited to join.
Invitations require a membership vacancy in the BrainTrusters.
Membership is a privilege and contigent upon consistent and ongoing participation in the BrainTrusters prediction market.
BrainTrusters who are not active and/or do not invest wisely may have their membership temporarily suspended or permanently revoked to allow others to participate.
Cheating in any form will not be tolerated and could result in immediate dismissal from BrainTrusters membership.
All BrainTruster membership information is confidential and will be kept secure, especially usernames and passwords.
BrainTrusters should abide by the The BrainTrusters: Cancer Clinical Trial Prediction Market Rules of the Game at all times.

A BrainTruster is a registered member of the prediction market.
BrainTrusters are only identified by their username.
BrainTrusters are should select usernames that are not easily associated with their true identity.
Each BrainTruster will have their own virtual bank account.
BrainTrusters are able to login, update their account information, browse clinical trial information (see Clinical Trials), purchase contracts and view current rankings.
Sharing of user account information is forbidden.

An initial amount of $10,000 will be deposited into each BrainTruster's bank account upon activation of their membership invitation.
Money in bank accounts has no value outside the prediction market.
Cash available in bank accounts may be used to purchase contracts for clinical trials.
All BrainTruster bank account activity is kept private from other participants.
BrainTrusters are able to purchase contracts as long as there are adequate funds available in their virtual bank account.
Funds will automatically be credited to/debited from BrainTruster cash available for the following reasons: initial deposit, purchase of contracts, refunds, bonuses and penalties (see below).
If a BrainTruster accurately predicts the clinical trial market price, the BrainTruster may be eligible for bonus earnings. See example Earning Money.
If a BrainTruster fails to accurately predict the clinical trial market a penalty may be assessed. See example Losing Money.
All earnings are credited to the cash available and may be used for further investment in the prediction market.
A minimum account balance of $1.00 is needed to invest in the prediction market.
A BrainTruster's user account is fully invested when their bank account reaches $0.00 (or less); no further investments can be made until the cash available is replenished (i.e., bonus earnings).

Rankings should encourage active participation and wise investments in the prediction market.
BrainTruster ranking is based on the amount of positive gain earned through prediciton market investments.
Rankings will be updated each time a trial is closed and once refunds, bonuses and penalties have been assessed.
Only the Top 25 BrainTruster rankings will be made public in order to avoid moral dilemmas and conflict of interest.
At the end of each year the Top 25 BrainTrusters will be eligible for gift rewards.

Clinical trials included in the prediction market are limited to currently open FDA cancer clinical drug trials.
Only certain clinical trials will be represented in the prediction market.
Clinical trials may be in any phase of the FDA drug approval process.
Clinical trial information includes the following required information: drug name, title, phase, trial status, protocol ID, summary, background information, sponsor, NLM identifier

BrainTrusters purchase contracts for valid clinical trials in the prediction market.
The purchase of contracts should be based on the BrainTruster's confidence that the drug will be approved (or not be approved) by the FDA.
Contract status will either be Active or Closed.
Contracts may only be purchased for Active clinical trials.
Contracts may be purchased for amounts between $1 and $100.
A BrainTruster's cash available is the limiting factor in the quantity and price of contracts they purchase.
A BrainTruster may not sell or trade contracts they have purchased.
When the FDA makes a decision on a clinical trial, the associated prediction market closes and the market closing price (aggregate average) for the trial is determined.
The market closing price is compared to individual contract purchase prices in order to determine whether a BrainTruster receives bonus earnings or pays penalties on their investments. (See Getting Started for more information.)

Graphs will display the current value of contracts for each clinical trial.
Graphs will display the value of contracts over time, including current value of contracts and current number of contracts for each clinical trial.
Contract values will consist of: lowest price paid for a contract, current value (average price paid for a contract), and highest price paid for a contract.