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ADDF: Neuroimaging and CSF Biomarker Development Program

The Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation invites Letters of Intent for its Neuroimaging and CSF Biomarker Development Program. According to ADDF, the RFP will support efforts to further develop and validate established biomarkers for which there is a clear clinical need in Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. It also prioritizes biomarkers with a defined context of use, a clear advantage over other relevant biomarkers, and a path to commercialization and/or clinical use. Specifically, the RFP focuses on developing novel PET ligands for clinical trials; supporting novel CSF biomarkers; validating established MRI approaches in larger cohorts; and developing novel measures of functional activity such as EEG. Novel biomarkers of neuroinflammation, synaptic integrity, autophagy, and TDP-43 are high priority. Other target areas of interest include neuronal loss, vascular injury and blood-brain barrier integrity, mitochondria and metabolic function, protein misfolding, oxidative stress, white matter changes, lewy body dementia, and other novel targets supported by compelling biological rationale and connection to disease. ADDF has limited interest in CSF measures of amyloid and tau. Grants of up to $600,000 will be awarded in support of the advancement of neuroimaging and CSF biomarkers that can do one or more of the following: Biomarkers that can serve as direct measures of target engagement for novel drugs in clinical development. Priority will be given to projects advancing biomarkers that can be used as specific companion biomarkers for therapies currently in the development pipeline; identification of such therapies will strengthen an application. Programs aimed at developing sensitive biomarkers that can detect disease earlier than currently available biomarkers. This includes biomarkers that can predict and monitor conversion from cognitively healthy to mild cognitive impairment (MCI), or MCI to Alzheimer’s disease. ADDF also seeks prognostic markers that can predict rates of cognitive decline. Many types of dementia can present with similar clinical features, and patients often show overlapping pathologies. At present, it is challenging to distinguish between dementia subtypes and proteinopathies. Biomarkers that can distinguish between subtypes and stratify patients in clinical trials are a high priority. Please contact if you are interested in applying to this opportunity.