Joining forces to accelerate translational research into MND
The LifeArc and MND Association Translational Research Fund is a £1 million joint fund created by LifeArc and the Motor Neurone Disease Association (MND Association) designed to stimulate promising translational research and the development of therapeutic approaches that could feed into the pipeline of new treatments for MND patients.
Since launching the call in May 2021, the fund recently expanded to include a contribution from My Name’5 Doddie Foundation, which will take the total funding amount available beyond the original £1 million to £1.5 million. This increase is expected to enable the support of more translational projects.
There is no effective treatment for patients with motor neurone disease (MND). To address the need for better treatments, this joint funding scheme is aimed at accelerating promising, translational research projects from across the UK and Republic of Ireland in order to develop new treatments or repurpose existing treatments for MND.
It is hoped that research jointly funded by MND Association, LifeArc and My Name’5 Doddie Foundation will generate valuable outcomes that can secure follow-on funding (additional translational funding or partnering with/licensing to industry) to support continued development of a therapy for MND and progression towards clinical trial
LifeArc anticipate funding four or five high-quality research projects of up to three years’ duration and costing a maximum of £500,000 per project. Projects selected will have a clear delivery plan and outline a route to patients and be seen to have a genuine chance of progressing.
Research funded by this call should help to de-risk a therapeutic approach and secure additional funding needed to take that next step.
The fund closed for applications in June, and the rigorous process of evaluating applications including external peer review and panel review will take place in the coming months. Funding decisions will be made in December by the panel.
