Private Foundation To Award Three $50K Grants to Mid-Atlantic Region Repurposing Research Projects

SKOKIE, Ill. - Nov. 24, 2015 - PRLog -- Thanks to a generous grant from a private foundation, Cures Within Reach (http://www.cureswithinreach.org) will be awarding three $50,000 Awards to support repurposing research proposed by researchers and clinicians located at Partner Research Institutions in the Mid-Atlantic region, through its CureAccelerator™ platform.

This private foundation Request for Proposal (RFP) is soliciting proof of concept human clinical trial repurposing research proposals in any unsolved human disease. It is geographically restricted to the Mid-Atlantic states of Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia and Washington D.C., with a preference to fund institutions in D.C. or Baltimore. The foundation is primarily interested in the repurposing of generic drugs, diagnostics, nutriceuticals or devices to reduce the symptoms, progress and incident of disease, alone or in combination with current therapies.

Individuals can learn more about and view this and other RFPs by registering for free as a CureAccelerator (https://app.cureaccelerator.org/registration) user. CureAccelerator is the world’s first online, interactive platform dedicated to explore whether drugs, devices and nutriceuticals approved for one or more diseases can be repurposed to create “new” treatments in other diseases.

“This is a great opportunity for researchers and clinicians in the Mid-Atlantic region to receive funding for repurposing projects focused on an unsolved human disease,” said Dr. Bruce Bloom, President and Chief Science Officer at Cures Within Reach. “We are especially interested in projects that are ready for a proof of concept clinical trial supported by strong preclinical and clinical evidence and observations.”

These awards are being offered at the same time that Cures Within Reach is galvanizing researchers and clinicians to post new repurposing projects and ideas to CureAccelerator during its “100 Projects in 100 Days” campaign, to show the world that creating treatments through repurposing research clinical trials is a critical way to improve healthcare outcomes and reduce healthcare costs.

“We are rallying researchers and clinicians from around the world to post their repurposing proposals and ideas to CureAccelerator to help us reach our goal of 100 new projects by February 15,” said Dr. Bruce Bloom, President and Chief Science Officer at Cures Within Reach. “Using this momentum and collaboration, we can change how quickly and affordably treatments can be developed through repurposing research in 2016 and beyond.”

ABOUT CURES WITHIN REACH

Cures Within Reach (http://www.cureswithinreach.org) works to catalyze repurposing research to quickly and affordably improve patient lives. We accomplish this through collaborations that connect researchers and funding, by facilitating crowd sourcing and community, and by identifying alternative financing models and incentives.

Cures Within Reach’s repurposing research projects have generated 12 “new” treatments making an impact in the following diseases through off-label use in clinical practice or through a commercialization track: autoimmune lymphoproliferative syndrome, familial dysautonomia, Types 1 and 2 diabetes, lung cancer, multiple sclerosis, prostate cancer, myelodysplastic syndrome and 4 additional pediatric auto-immune diseases.  Cures Within Reach has a portfolio of current projects poised to make impact in Batten disease, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, pediatric delirium, pediatric brain tumors, lung cancer, ascites, melanoma, autism, Alzheimer’s disease, prematurity, pediatric leukemia, and polycystic kidney disease.

The organization built CureAccelerator (http://cureaccelerator.org) to provide a global collaboration space and market for repurposing research that can deliver effective solutions to unsolved diseases. Cures Within Reach received a $500,000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to build CureAccelerator, to explore whether drugs, devices and nutriceuticals approved for one or more human diseases can be repurposed to create “new” treatments in other diseases.

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