OXFORD,
United Kingdom and CLEVELAND, May 17, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- The Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre
('OHC'), a partnership (between the University
of Oxford, UK and Harrington Discovery Institute at
University Hospitals, Cleveland,
Ohio) aimed at driving cutting-edge rare disease
breakthroughs, is pleased to announce that it has received a
philanthropic donation of up to £650,000 to enable the launch of
two new grant award programmes to support the research and
development of greatly needed therapeutics for Friedreich's Ataxia
(FA): The FA Alliance Catalyst Fund and The FA Alliance Innovation
Fund.
In 2021, the OHC established a dedicated programme for
recruiting leading disease area experts and coordinating
substantial research efforts towards developing new treatments for
FA. So far, 18 leading researchers have been recruited and a
pipeline of FA projects has been created. This programme is
supported by the non-profit organisations EndFA, The Friedreich's
Ataxia Research Alliance (FARA), and Ataxia UK, and is collectively
known as the Friedreich's Ataxia Alliance at Oxford (FA Alliance).
The FA Alliance Catalyst Fund and The FA Alliance Innovation
Fund will both initiate and accelerate cutting-edge research
currently underway within the OHC for the development of a
treatment for FA. The FA Alliance Catalyst Fund will leverage
co-funding and support from the University of
Oxford's Translational Research Office to fund research
scientists already tackling FA. The FA Alliance Innovation
Fund will specifically advance earlier-stage ideas with little or
no preliminary data that aim to explore highly innovative,
potentially ground-breaking concepts in FA research.
FA is a debilitating, life-shortening, degenerative multisystem
rare disease that affects roughly 1 in 50,000 people in the US /
UK1, with onset typically between 10-15 years of age.
Individuals with FA have genetic mutations that result in a
deficiency in the production of a protein called frataxin, causing
progressive damage and cell death. This leads to the initial
symptoms of FA, such as tiredness, vision and hearing loss, chest
pain, slow or slurred speech, difficulty walking and a loss of
sensation and reflexes. Despite extensive research there is no cure
for FA, meaning that significant progress is still required to
advance new therapeutics for patients in need.
Matthew Wood, Director and
Chief Scientific Officer of the OHC, and Professor of Neuroscience
in Oxford's Department of
Paediatrics, said: "Today's announcement validates and
underscores OHC's commitment to driving innovation and
collaboration in research towards new therapeutics to meet the
major unmet need of Friedreich's Ataxia. We are extremely grateful
for the support received, which is enabling the
launch of these two new award programmes. Through OHC and the FA
Alliance, we are bringing a multidisciplinary team of leading
researchers and clinicians together to tackle this challenging rare
disease as one of our priority areas. Strengthened by the
complementary expertise of the Harrington Discovery Institute, this
new funding will both accelerate existing projects and advance new
projects with the aim of developing a therapeutic to cure or treat
FA."
For more information, visit: Friedreich's Ataxia Research at
OHC
1 The Friedreich's Ataxia Research Alliance (FARA) -
https://www.curefa.org/what-is-friedreichs-ataxia
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content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-oxford-harrington-rare-disease-centre-announces-newly-funded-grant-award-programmes-to-develop-new-therapies-for-friedreichs-ataxia-302148941.html
SOURCE Harrington Discovery Institute