Biogen Idec has created a new research consortium with several leading academic research centers that will leverage a range of scientific techniques and disciplines to identify new approaches to treating amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The consortium will coordinate research and share results across a number of different disciplines with the goal of accelerating the understanding of the disease and the development of new targets.
 
Each participating lab will undertake a three-year research project and will share information and insights from their research and to exchange results from ongoing efforts at Biogen, which will help to guide ongoing research activities. Biogen has committed more than $10 million over three years to fund research projects by the consortium.
 
“ALS research is a primary area of focus for Biogen Idec, but has proven to be a very difficult disease to understand and treat,” said Spyros Artavanis-Tsakonas, Ph.D., senior vice president, chief scientific officer, for Biogen Idec and Professor of Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School. “We believe that taking a holistic approach that explores the many variables involved in the development and progression of ALS will speed our ability to identify viable drug targets that can be moved into testing. We are hopeful that the assembly of this extraordinary group will allow unprecedented insights and define a new level of synergy between academic research and Biogen Idec.”