BioPharma, Patient Engagement

Biogen donates $5M to ALS fund to spark competitive drug research

In an effort to increase ALS research, Biogen is contributing $5 million - and offering to match more - to entice researchers to conduct basic science and therapeutics research in the debilitating disease.

Toby Cosgrove ice bucket challenge

Biogen just contributed $5 million to a new “Industry Fund for ALS Research” – challenging other biopharma players to financially support basic science research for amyloid lateral sclerosis.

It’s a notable play from Biogen, a company gambling everything on a CNS play – it’s in the midst of a $2 billion attempt to tackle Alzheimer’s disease. And three years ago, Biogen had a stunning Phase 3 flop in its own ALS drug – conducting a trial in 943 patients only to find that its drug had absolutely no effect in improving the disease’s prognosis. The move marks Biogen’s continuing interest in developing an ALS treatment.

Biogen has committed to matching 50 percent of contributions from other industry players through 2018. The fund is being led by Target ALS Foundation, a collaborative research consortium aimed at finding sparking more drug research for the debilitating disease.

Another notable fundraising effort, of course, for ALS is the Ice Bucket Challenge – which in 2014 raised more than $100 million for the disease. There are still no effective therapies for ALS, but a growing understanding of the disease’s biological underpinnings could help spur competitive drug work in the field.

“Our goal is to increase the number, robustness and intensity of active ALS drug development programs in the biopharmaceutical industry by supporting the mostice bupromising preclinical research and fostering vital interactions between academia and industry,” Manish Raisinghani, president of the Target ALS Foundation, said in a statement.

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