NIH funding to boost new Alzheimer's research on prevention, novel drug targets

Researchers will test promising drugs aimed at preventing Alzheimer’s and identify and validate biological targets for novel therapies, with around $45 million in new funding from the USA’s National Institutes of Health. The initiative will support innovative new studies as part of an intensified national effort to find effective interventions for this devastating degenerative brain disease.

The studies are among the first to be developed with direction from the 2012 NIH Alzheimer’s Disease Research Summit: Path to Treatment and Prevention and reflect research goals in the National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease. Of the funding, $40 million is from an allocation from the Office of the NIH director, Francis Collins (pictured), with additional funding from the National Institute on Aging (NIA), the lead Institute within NIH for Alzheimer’s research.

“As many as 5 million Americans face the challenge of Alzheimer’s disease, which robs them of their memories, their independence and, ultimately, their lives,” said Dr Collins, adding: “We are determined, even in a time of constrained fiscal resources, to capitalize on exciting scientific opportunities to advance understanding of Alzheimer’s biology and find effective therapies as quickly as possible.”