Global Alzheimer's Platform (GAP) Foundation Congratulates the National Institutes of Health and GAP-Net Partners in the Alzheimer's Clinical Trials Consortium (ACTC)

WASHINGTON, Dec. 13, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced a $70 million grant to create and implement a national consortium of clinical researchers to advance Alzheimer's research.  The newly formed ACTC includes many GAP-Net research sites supported by the Global Alzheimer's Platform Foundation.  GAP-Net is an integrated platform of 58 trial-ready, high-performance clinical research sites across the United States searching for treatments for Alzheimer's disease.

GAP-Net member institutions working within ACTC include Brigham & Women's Hospital, the University of Southern California, Mayo Clinic and the Cleveland Clinic.  These research institutions work with GAP to design and implement new trial recruitment models, to accelerate clinical trial start up and increase participation in research.  Alzheimer's disease affects more than 5.4 million Americans and costs taxpayers at least $153 billion dollars per year in Medicare and Medicaid expenses alone.  It is projected that 14 million people in the U.S. will be afflicted with Alzheimer's disease by 2050.   

"The NIH's support is an affirmation that GAP is heading in the right direction in its efforts to bring new therapies to patients and a field in desperate need," commented George Vradenburg, Chairman and Founder of the Global Alzheimer's Platform Foundation.  "We were pleased to support the application process for the ACTC and believe this is an important step in moving forward with improving the clinical trial process."

"GAP-Net is hitting important milestones with our programs in Kansas City and 7 other Alliance communities, using inventive and disruptive ways to recruit trial participants and to catalyze the clinical trial process," said John Dwyer, President of the Global Alzheimer's Platform Foundation.  "With the NIH joining in the fight, the field has an opportunity to bring best practices together and improve the likelihood that a cure for Alzheimer's disease is within our reach."

Results of GAP's Kansas City initiative, the Memory Strings Kansas City Alliance, demonstrated a 292% growth in people contacting their local Alzheimer's disease research center.  The Kansas City Alliance initiative also cut trial enrollment time in half.  GAP's initiatives are targeted to reduce the clinical trial cycle times by up to two years, with the goal of speeding the delivery of lifesaving therapies to patients.

For a current list of GAP-Net sites and researchers, please visit the link here.

For more information about the GAP Foundation, please visit www.globalalzplatform.org.  To volunteer, visit www.memorystrings.org.

Note to Editors

For interviews with GAP representatives and/or GAP-Net researchers, please contact Brianne Miller at: (415) 359-2303 or [email protected].

About Global Alzheimer's Platform Foundation (GAP)

GAP is a patient-centric, non-profit dedicated to speeding the delivery of innovative medicines to those in need by reducing the time and cost of Alzheimer's disease clinical trials.  GAP formed a unique and growing network of 58 leading research centers across the U.S. and Canada to help optimize their operations.  GAP launched a community-based recruitment model and an online platform designed to accelerate trial recruitment and increase minority representation in research.  Based in Washington D.C., GAP was created by UsAgainstAlzheimer's and the Global CEO Initiative (CEOi) in 2015.  To learn more about the GAP, please visit globalalzplatform.org.

Media Contact:
Brianne Miller
Landis Communications Inc.
(415) 359-2303
[email protected]
www.landispr.com

SOURCE Global Alzheimer's Platform Foundation