The Dementia Consortium has welcomed MSD (Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, USA) as a new partner in their global venture to accelerate drug discovery for neurodegenerative disease. MSD is the latest pharmaceutical company to join the Dementia Consortium – a £4.5 million charity-industry partnership between Alzheimer’s Research UK, MRC Technology and pharmaceutical companies Abbvie, Astex, Eisai and Lilly.
The announcement comes as part of the Alzheimer’s Research UK Conference – the largest annual gathering of dementia researchers in the UK. Engaging academic researchers with drug discovery forms a central theme of this year’s Conference and the Dementia Consortium is one of a suite of initiatives launched by the charity in recent years.
Dr Darryle Schoepp, Head of Neuroscience Discovery at MSD said:
“MSD is very enthusiastic to join and contribute to the Dementia Consortium. At MSD, we are committed to discovering new therapeutics that benefit patients with dementia. By contributing our neuroscience expertise and resources in this unique collaborative model, collectively we have the opportunity to advance new scientific approaches and fuel the future pipeline of promising new treatments for Alzheimer’s.”
Dr Simon Ridley, Director of Research at Alzheimer’s Research UK, said:
“We’re pleased to welcome MSD to the Dementia Consortium. The Consortium has had a hugely successful year, with four drug development programmes getting underway across the world. MSD bring financial investment and expertise to the Consortium, allowing us to build a diverse drug discovery pipeline and strengthening our ability to find treatments for dementia sooner.”
Dr Justin Bryans, Director of Drug Discovery at MRC Technology said:
“With five pharmaceutical partners on board and four projects already being funded, the Dementia Consortium has built up some real momentum in our ambition to find new dementia drugs to improve patients’ lives.”
To date, the Consortium has awarded over £1.5m so far to early stage drug discovery efforts for neurodegenerative diseases, including two projects that target the immune system in a bid to halt nerve cell damage in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s and a project targeting TDP-43 aggregation in frontotemporal dementia and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. For further information about the consortium please visit http://www.dementiaconsortium.org/.
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For further information, or to speak with, please contact Emma O’Brien, Science Communications Officer at Alzheimer’s Research UK on 0300 111 5 666, 07741310488 or email press@alzheimersresearchuk.org
Notes to editors:
• Alzheimer’s Research UK is the UK’s leading charity specialising in finding preventions, treatments and a cure for dementia.
• We rely on donations to fund our vital dementia research. To help us defeat dementia, donate today by visiting www.alzheimersresearchuk.org or calling 0300 111 5555.
• We are currently supporting dementia research projects worth over £33 million in leading Universities across the UK.
• Our Defeat Dementia campaign, a pledge to raise £100 million in five years to grow the research field and accelerate progress towards new treatments and preventions, was announced by the Prime Minister at the G8 legacy event on 19 June 2014. For more information visit www.dementiablog.org/defeat-dementia
About MRC Technology (www.mrctechnology.org) is an independent life science medical research charity committed to improving the opportunities for positive patient outcomes everywhere. As a champion for human health, MRC Technology partners with academic, biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and charity organisations to move promising medical research forward into viable and accessible patient treatments. As a charity we are self-funded, reinvesting our incomes to support translating research from the bench to patient. Our people combine commercialisation and IP management skills with diagnostic and drug discovery expertise, specialising in small molecule and therapeutic antibodies. MRC Technology projects have led to several approved drugs changing the lives of countless patients by harnessing the potential of science.
About MSD
Today’s MSD is a global health care leader working to help the world be well. MSD is a tradename of Merck & Co., Inc., with headquarters in Kenilworth, N.J., U.S.A. Through our prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies and animal health products, we work with customers and operate in more than 140 countries to deliver innovative health solutions. We also demonstrate our commitment to increasing access to health care through far-reaching policies, programs and partnerships. For more information, visit www.msd-uk.com.
