NIH Announces $235 Million Partnership to Accelerate Development of New Treatments for Lupus and Other Complex Diseases

Lupus Foundation of America Joins a Five-Year Initiative to Bring Together Government, Academia, Industry and Nonprofit Health Organizations to Harness Capabilities and Resources

WASHINGTON, Feb. 4, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Lupus Foundation of America will partner with the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) to support a new five-year initiative that will accelerate the ability to develop new medicines for lupus and other diverse and complex diseases.  Lupus is included among four diseases that will be the focus of the new Accelerating Medicines Partnership (AMP).  The project is a $235 million collaborative effort by government, academia, industry and nonprofit health organizations that will support research to more fully understand the underlying causes of specific diseases and identify and validate the right biologic targets to pursue for possible drug therapies. 

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121113/DC11393LOGO)

Dr. Francis Collins, Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), announced the partnership today (Tuesday) during a news conference at the National Press Club in Washington.  The goals of AMP are to increase the number of new diagnostic tests and treatments for specific diseases, and to reduce the time and expense required to bring new therapies into clinical use.  The four diseases selected for the initial project are Alzheimer's disease, type 2 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and lupus.  The project allocates $41.6 million specifically for research on the autoimmune diseases RA and lupus.

Lupus was selected for this project because of the lack of effective targeted therapies for the most severe forms of the disease, such as when lupus affects the kidneys or the central nervous system. Within the past sixty years, only one new drug has been developed and approved specifically for use in treating lupus.

"Lupus is a complex disease, and the scope of the AMP project is tailor made for a collaborative effort among the NIH, industry, academic medical research centers and nonprofit health organizations," said Dr. Gary Gilkeson, Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Faculty Development at the Medical University of South Carolina and Chair of the Lupus Foundation of America Medical-Scientific Advisory Council.  "Now more than ever, we must bring stakeholders together to focus our energies and efforts on scientific areas that will accelerate the pace of lupus research.  We believe this initiative will ultimately lead to new understanding of the underlying causes of lupus along with new therapies for this devastating disease."

"We are pleased to be a partner in this important collaborative effort which will bring greater focus and coordination to help solve the cruel mystery of lupus and improve the quality of life for millions of people worldwide," said Sandra C. Raymond, President & CEO of the Lupus Foundation of America. "In recent years there have been a number of scientific findings and developments that have placed us at the brink of breakthrough, and greater collaboration among all stakeholders is needed to maximize comprehensive efforts to bring lupus under control."  The initial focus of the AMP project for lupus will be on how lupus affects the kidneys and the skin.  The vision for the project is to identify key targets within the immune system that contribute to the underlying biological causes of lupus that affects the kidneys and the skin.  

The AMP project complements the Lupus Foundation of America's ongoing efforts and strategies to advance the science and medicine of lupus and expand the number of new therapies available to manage the disease.  In 2009, the Foundation commissioned a first-of-its-kind report to detail obstacles and provide a roadmap to speed development of new safe, effective and more tolerable treatments for lupus.  The report, authored by the respected health policy research organization The Lewin Group, called for organizing a new coordinated national effort to overcome the barriers.  The report also recommended that the scientific community and NIH collaborate on a research agenda to provide a clear pathway to drug development in lupus.

 About Lupus

Lupus is an unpredictable and misunderstood autoimmune disease that ravages different parts of the body.  It is difficult to diagnose, hard to live with and a challenge to treat.  Lupus is a cruel mystery because it is hidden from view and undefined, has a range of symptoms, strikes without warning, and has no known cause and no known cure.  Its health effects can range from a skin rash to a heart attack.  Lupus is debilitating and destructive and can be fatal, yet research on lupus remains underfunded relative to diseases of similar scope and devastation. 

About the Lupus Foundation of America

The Lupus Foundation of America is the only national force devoted to solving the mystery of lupus, one of the world's cruelest, most unpredictable and devastating diseases, while giving caring support to those who suffer from its brutal impact. Through a comprehensive program of research, education, and advocacy, the Foundation leads the fight to improve the quality of life for all people affected by lupus. Learn more about the lupus, Lupus Science & Medicine Journal and the Lupus Foundation of America at lupus.org. For the latest news and updates, follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

SOURCE Lupus Foundation of America

WANT YOUR COMPANY'S NEWS FEATURED ON PRNEWSWIRE.COM?

440k+
Newsrooms &
Influencers

9k+
Digital Media
Outlets

270k+
Journalists
Opted In

GET STARTED