The objective of the collaboration is to gain knowledge about the fundamental genetic causes of ALS.
As per the agreement, Biogen Idec will fund the project at the laboratories of David Goldstein, director of Duke University’s center for human genome variation as well as Richard Myers, president and director of the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology.
In addition to Goldstein and Myers, the consortium will include Robert Brown, a neurologist at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, Aaron Gitler, a geneticist at Stanford University, Tom Maniatis, a molecular biologist at Columbia University, Guy Rouleau, a neuro-geneticist at the University of Montreal and Neil Shneider, a neurologist and neuroscientist at Columbia University’s Motor Neuron Center.
Duke University center for human genome variation director David Goldstein said "Identifying the mutations that can lead to neurodegenerative disease provides a key foothold for developing new therapies and a framework for understanding variation in how patients progress and respond to treatment."
HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology president and director Richard Myers said, "Our hope is that the scientific discoveries resulting from this project will be translated into treatments that alleviate suffering and save the lives of people touched by this terrible disease."