Tag Archives: Innovative Medicines Initiative

Today the Lancet Neurology Commission released a major report detailing the state of research and patient care for Alzheimer´s disease and other dementias and providing recommendations for the future. The conclusion: A concerted effort and long-term economic commitment are critical to meeting the global challenge of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias.

The comprehensive report, which was the result of a collaborative effort between more than 30 leading researchers from around the world, will also be presented to the European Parliament Commissioners today in Brussels.

The Lancet Neurology Commission, initiated by Lancet editors, is led by Professor Bengt Winblad of the Center for Alzheimer Research at the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden. Winblad is also a member of the JPND Scientific Advisory Board and was the coordinator of BIOMARKAPD, a JPND project on Biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. Three other members of the JPND Scientific Advisory Board, Prof. Martin Knapp (United Kingdom), Prof. Bruno Dubois (France), and Prof. Philip Scheltens (Netherlands), as well as the Chair of the JPND Management Board, Prof. Philippe Amouyel, participated as experts in this report. The commission was formed with the aim of providing expert recommendations and information to politicians and policymakers about Alzheimer´s disease and related dementias.

The report encompasses the fields of health economics, epidemiology, prevention, genetics, biology, diagnosis, treatment, care and ethics. To reduce the burden of dementia, the commission advocates that public governmental agencies form large multinational partnerships with academic centres and pharmaceutical companies to deploy capital resources and share risk.

“To defeat Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, united actions are needed, not only within research, but also within the political arena on all levels,” said Winblad. “My hope is that our work will stimulate increased national and international collaboration.”

Alzheimer’s, the most common form of dementia, accounts for approximately 60 percent of cases. The most important risk factor is age, and as life expectancy increases, the number of people with dementia is also expected to rise. In 2015, almost 47 million individuals around the world were estimated to be affected. By 2030, the number is expected to reach 75 million. By 2050, up to 131 million people are expected to be burdened by the disease. So far, no treatment is available to effectively halt or reverse the disease.

Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders are one of the major targets of JPND, which as the largest global research initiative aimed at tackling the challenge of neurodegenerative diseases is cited in the report as an example of the sort of action needed to make meaningful progress. “To speed up progress even more, ” the report asserts, “this global collaboration must be extended to even more countries.”

For Winblad, the onus is now on governments to take action — and quickly: “What we need now is for the politicians to realise that this is a growing problem that already costs society tremendous amounts of money,” he said. “We need investments of resources in research in all areas involved in this disease, to find better drugs, but also to improve compassionate care and prevention.”

The Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) has launched a new call for research proposals that will aim to accelerate the development of medicines in a number of key areas, including neurological disorders.

The Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease topic of the call focuses on better understanding how the protein tangles found in both diseases spread through the brain, with the ultimate goal of establishing new drug targets.

The IMI initiative, a partnership between the European Union and the pharmaceutical industry association EFPIA, aims to stimulate the development of safer and more effective medicines.

Other topics in the call, known as IMI 2 – Call 7, include safety, pain, cancer, eye diseases, and big data. Call 7 has a budget of €46.8 million from IMI, which will be matched by €46.8 million from the EFPIA companies in the projects. The submission deadline for this call is March 17, 2016.

IMI simultaneously launched a second call, known as IMI 2 – Call 8, for research proposals on Ebola and related diseases.

Visit the IMI website to learn more about the call topics and to apply.

The Innovative Medicines Initiative 2 (IMI 2) indicative topic text for Call 5 is now available, with heavy emphasis on Alzheimer’s Disease. The following topics are under consideration for inclusion in the call:

  • Patient perspective elicitation on benefits and risks of medicinal products from development through the entire life cycle, for integration into benefit risk assessments by regulators and health technology assessment bodies
  • Diabetic kidney disease biomarkers (DKD-BM)
  • Inflammation and Alzheimer’s disease (AD): modulating microglia function – focussing on TREM2 and CD33
  • Understanding the role of amyloid biomarkers in the current and future diagnosis and management of patients across the spectrum of cognitive impairment (from pre-dementia to dementia)
  • Evolving models of patient engagement and access for earlier identification of Alzheimer’s disease: phased expansion study
  • Apolipoprotein E (ApoE) biology to validated Alzheimer’s disease targets

Note: All information regarding future IMI Call topics is indicative and subject to change. Final information about future IMI Calls will be communicated after approval by the IMI Governing Board.

GAP, initiated by the New York Academy of Sciences and Global CEO Initiative, is moving one step closer to reaching its goal of establishing a global, trial-ready platform for Alzheimer’s disease.

The Global Alzheimer’s Platform (GAP) and the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) announced today that they will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to accelerate Alzheimer’s drug development by building a global, standing, trial-ready platform for Alzheimer’s drug development.

The collaboration represents a significant commitment to work together to recruit patients for clinical trials, to create a high-performing clinical trial system, and to develop a standing adaptive protocol to test new molecules quickly, and move those with promise into later stage development.

Source: New York Academy of Sciences