OTTAWA (September 6, 2000) - A collaborative effort between the Alzheimer Society of Canada, AstraZeneca Canada Inc., AstraZeneca US and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) through its partnership with Canada's Research-Based Pharmaceutical Companies (Rx&D) will help generate new research into Alzheimer Disease.
The Alzheimer Disease Research Grants Program is designed to stimulate individual Canadian investigators to undertake innovative research into the cause and cure of Alzheimer Disease. The Program offers up to four biomedical research grants focussed on the causes, diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer Disease for each of two years. Researchers are invited to submit proposals designed to yield new insights into the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer Disease. Applications for up to $100,000/annum for projects of up to two years will be considered. Funding may also include stipends for research trainees (post-doctoral fellows, graduate students or summer students).
The Alzheimer Society of Canada is a nationwide network of provincial organizations, local chapters and support groups dedicated to providing information and support for people with Alzheimer Disease and their caregivers, as well as to fostering relevant research. Bill Kydd, president of the Alzheimer Society of Canada stated, "This joint funding effort will allow us to support promising research projects at twice our maximum level and further the Society's mission to promote the search for a cause and cure. We look forward to working in close collaboration with CIHR and to establish additional partnerships to leverage our research dollars."
AstraZeneca, an international pharmaceutical company with a strong research base, has subsidiaries in Canada and the US. "We hope that this new funding program will become a worthy model for cooperation among the public, private and government sectors within Canada for support of novel biomedical research", said Alain Gendron, medical research scientist - CNS, AstraZeneca Canada Inc. "AstraZeneca is promoting this new program to stimulate Canadian scientists involved in research into the cause and cure of Alzheimer Disease."
Christof Angst of AstraZeneca US confirmed, "This consortium between AstraZeneca, the Alzheimer Society of Canada and CIHR was a program waiting to happen. In the past, AstraZeneca Canada has supported a limited number of Canadian postdoctoral applications across a range of therapeutic areas including Alzheimer Disease. This program offers us an opportunity to support more broadly high quality academic research in the Alzheimer field within Canada. It also creates opportunities for intellectual interactions and the potential for mutually productive collaborations with our CNS scientists in the United States."
Speaking on behalf of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), President Alan Bernstein expressed support for the program. "CIHR, through the CIHR/Rx & D Program is proud to be a part of the Alzheimer Disease Research Grants Program. We are committed to working with partners in the voluntary health sector, industry, universities and research institutes to promote innovative research in the area of Alzheimer Disease that will have a real impact on the health care system and improve the lives of those Canadians with Alzheimers and their families." CIHR is Canada's major federal funding agency for health research. Its objective is to excel, according to internationally accepted standards of scientific excellence, in the creation of new knowledge and its translation into improved health for Canadians, more effective health services and products and a strengthened Canadian health care system.
Applications will be selected through a joint peer review process with the CIHR/Rx&D Research Program, led by the Alzheimer Society of Canada. Those applications that are deemed worthy of funding and within the parameters of the Program will be forwarded to AstraZeneca for final selection. Funding decisions will be based on the scientific merit of the applications, their fit with Program goals and the scientific interests of AstraZeneca. Up to four applicants will be offered a research grant of up to two years duration. Decisions will be made by late February and funding of successful applications will begin as early as April 1, 2001.
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FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Andrew Matejcic, CIHR (613) 954-7143
Debbie Krulicki, Manager, Media Relations and Communications Alzheimer Society of Canada (416) 488-8772, ext 232
Felicia Shui, Manager, External Communications AstraZeneca Canada Inc. (905) 615-6865
