Alector, Inc
“At Alector, we are driven to discover and develop new therapeutics that harness the brain’s immune system to change the course of neurodegenerative diseases. An in-depth understanding of disease pathologies and the evaluation of next-generation neurofilament assays to establish prognostic biomarkers will be important to the success of advancing disease-modifying medicines for frontotemporal dementia. We are proud to partner with the FNIH Biomarkers Consortium in our shared efforts to accelerate research and innovation in this area.”
Sara Kenkare-Mitra, Ph.D.
President and Head of Research and Development
Alector, Inc
Diagnostics Accelerator at the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation
“The Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation is dedicated to accelerating the development of biomarkers for Alzheimer’s and related dementias, which are essential to patients receiving a more reliable, accessible and affordable diagnosis. We are excited to be a part of the FNIH Biomarkers Consortium’s project as this will strengthen our efforts to identify the best blood tests to measure neurofilament and identify people at risk for FTD, the most common dementia for people under 60.”
Howard Fillit, M.D.
Co-Founder and Chief Science Officer
Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation
Otsuka Pharmaceutical Development & Commercialization, Inc.
“At Otsuka, we are passionate about advancing research to improve treatments for individuals impacted by neurodegenerative diseases, including familial frontotemporal degeneration (f-FTD). We are firm believers that biomarkers are critical to expedite novel treatments, and collaboration is a vital element for driving innovation of these complex diseases of the brain. Therefore, we are pleased to be working with the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, academic and other industry leaders to validate fluid neurofilament light as a biomarker of neurodegeneration in f-FTD.”
Arash Raoufinia, MS, PharmD
VP Head of Early Phase Development and Translational Medicine
Otsuka Pharmaceutical Development & Commercialization, Inc.
Rainwater Charitable Foundation
“The Rainwater Charitable Foundation prioritizes visionary and transformative solutions to accelerate treatments for tauopathies. Finding biomarkers that indicate pharmacokinetic response, target engagement or are suitable for diagnostic and disease monitoring purposes are desperately needed in the tauopathy field. We are thrilled to be joining the FNIH to evaluate new assays for neurofilament as a potential biomarker useful during the selection of clinical trial participants in familial frontotemporal degeneration (FTD).”
Glenn A. Harris, Ph.D.
Director of Business Development & Research Partnerships
Rainwater Charitable Foundation
The ALS Association
“Fluid biomarkers of neurodegeneration are urgently needed for ALS and other neurodegenerative disorders. The ALS Association is excited to work with FNIH and our other partners to explore the potential of neurofilament to meet this need.”
Neil Thakur, Ph.D.
Chief Mission Officer
The ALS Association
The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration
“AFTD is proud to be a part of this landmark precompetitive partnership. We’re grateful to all members of this effort – from the FNIH to our advocacy and biopharma partners – for sharing our commitment to developing an FTD biomarker. To the families that we serve, the development of neurofilament biomarkers offers hope for better, faster clinical trials and effective treatments for this devastating disease.”
Debra Niehoff, Ph.D.
Director of Research & Grants
The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration
The Bluefield Project to Cure Frontotemporal Dementia
“Neurofilament shows great promise as a biomarker for use in selecting participants for clinical trials in familial frontotemporal degeneration and as a possible indicator of efficacy in the evaluation of investigational therapeutics. We are excited to support this collaborative effort to evaluate assays that measure neurofilament, which we believe will help accelerate the development of much-needed disease-modifying therapeutics.”
Laura Mitic, Ph.D.
Chief Scientific Officer
The Bluefield Project to Cure Frontotemporal Dementia
The Robert Packard Center for ALS Research at Johns Hopkins
“FTD and ALS are both devastating, progressive neurological diseases that share genetic causes and biological mechanisms. The work that the consortium is doing brings us that much closer to establishing neurofilament-light as a much needed biomarker for both disorders. “
Danielle Boyce, DPA, MPH
Executive Director
The Robert Packard Center for ALS Research at Johns Hopkins