NEW YORK, March 2 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research announced up to $5.75 million in total funding available under its three 2010 Critical Challenges. Each year the Foundation tailors specific Challenges to advance one or more of its key research priorities in PD drug development: forging new strategies to define Parkinson’s disease and its progression, alter disease course, reduce symptoms and complications of treatment to increase quality of life, and develop pre-clinical and clinical research tools to broadly accelerate Parkinson’s research. Including the Critical Challenges announced today, the Foundation expects about $25 million of its total 2010 funding to drive research focused on these priorities.
Two of the 2010 Challenges aim to streamline field-wide efforts focused on alpha-synuclein and LRRK2, respectively, two leading genetic targets for PD drug development. The third Challenge will drive scientific collaborations that can speed progress by taking advantage of the unique repository of well-characterized biological samples collected through the Brain and Body Donation Program at the Arizona Parkinson’s Disease Consortium.
Critical Challenges complement the Foundation’s annually recurring Pipeline Programs, which provide opportunities for projects at various stages of development, ensuring that new ideas continue flowing into Parkinson’s research. Last September, MJFF announced $12 million in 2010 Pipeline Program funding.
Abbreviated timeline information on the 2010 Critical Challenges follows. Full details are available at www.michaeljfox.org/research.
Alpha-synuclein Therapeutics
Total available funding: $3 million
Deadline: 6 p.m. ET, Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Funding Anticipated: November 2010
Pharmacodynamic Biomarkers of LRRK2 Activity
Total available funding: $2 million
Deadline: 6 p.m. ET, Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Funding Anticipated: November 2010
Novel Hypotheses in PD: Investigating Clinical Data and Human Tissue
Total available funding: $750,000
Deadline: 6 p.m. ET, Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Funding Anticipated: November 2010
The Michael J. Fox Foundation is dedicated to ensuring the development of better treatments, and ultimately a cure, for Parkinson’s disease through an aggressively funded research agenda. MJFF has funded over $175 million in research to date.
CONTACT: Media Contact: Holly Barkhymer, +1-212-509-0995 x242,
hbarkhymer@michaeljfox.org; or Research Contact:: Todd Sherer, PhD,
+1-212-509-0995 x243, tsherer@michaeljfox.org, both of MJFF
