Charles River signs on to Dementia Consortium
Launched in 2013 by Alzheimer’s Research UK (ARUK), in addition to Charles River, the Dementia Consortium includes AbbVie, Astex Pharmaceuticals, Eisai, Lilly, MSD, Johnson and Johnson Innovation, and Takeda, as well as Evotec.
John Montana, PhD, corporate vice president, integrated drug development and strategic projects, Charles River, said the aim of the consortium is “to accelerate early-stage novel drug discovery, providing academic researchers with the funding, industry-based scientific expertise, and project management resources to capitalize on new emerging drug targets.”
As a consortium member, Charles River will collaborate with grant recipients, providing guidance in target validation as well as biomarker and biological assay development and screening, in addition to high-throughput screening and medicinal and computational chemistry.
“Grant holders will have regular project review meetings with members of the Dementia Consortium, and Charles River’s unique integrated drug discovery approach will be leveraged with academic investigators to help progress their projects to in vivo proof of concept,” added Montana.
Investing in early research projects exploring novel pathways and mechanisms, the consortium aims to validate targets for the treatment of dementia.
Said Montana, “They are particularly interested in funding projects focused on novel molecular targets or pathways involved in neurodegenerative diseases, with evidence linking target modulation to a therapeutic benefit in human disease.”
