The National Institutes of Health and the Huntington's Disease Society of America Form Research Partnership

Huntington's Disease Society of America
Wednesday, 9 May 2001

New York, NY, May 9, 2001– On Tuesday, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), a division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), announced a new partnership with the Huntington's Disease Society of America (HDSA). This partnership breaks new ground in the neurodegenerative field through a joint sponsorship between government and a voluntary health agency.

This collaborative pilot project, "Screening FDA Approved Drugs for Neurodegenerative Disease," will accelerate the pace of neurodegenerative disease research. This project parallels HDSA's newest research program, the Therapeutics Initiative, a three-stage process of pre-clinical research in which assays (tests) are developed, drugs are screened against them and final candidates are tested in mouse models.

"We are extremely excited about this joint sponsorship with NINDS, which would supplement the research projects of NIH and HDSA award recipients," says Barbara Boyle, National Executive Director/CEO of the Huntington's Disease Society of America. "This partnership allows HDSA to strengthen our ties with government while moving research from the lab to clinical trials more rapidly."

Through this program, NINDS will provide supplemental funding to HDSA Grant and Fellowship recipients and members of HDSA's elite group of scientists, the Coalition for the Cure, who are already receiving funds from NIH/NINDS. Scientists who develop assays for high-throughput drug screenings (drug screenings for large volumes of compounds) will be able to follow through on these screenings via a facility being organized by NINDS.

The Huntington's Disease Society of America is a national non-profit voluntary health agency that is dedicated to finding a cure for HD while providing vital services to those affected by this incurable neurodegenerative disorder that affects 30,000 Americans and places another 200,000 at risk to inherit its deadly gene.

For more information, or to contact Huntington's Disease Society of America, see their website at: www.hdsa.org