The Longitude Prize on ALS, a brand new £7.5 million world problem prize, has launched in the present day to incentivise and reward innovative AI-based approaches to remodel drug discovery for the remedy of ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), the most typical type of MND (motor neurone illness).
ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative illness that damages the nerves within the mind and spinal wire (referred to as motor neurones). Alerts from the mind cease reaching muscle tissues, resulting in extreme muscle degeneration. Finally this impacts the muscle tissues which can be used to swallow food and drinks, and people used to breathe.
There’s a 1 in 300 probability that an individual will develop MND of their lifetime and it could actually have an effect on adults of any age – round 90% of instances can have ALS. Within the UK, round 5,000 individuals are residing with MND at anyone time.
Though some very restricted therapies exist to gradual the development of the illness for a short while, the complexity of the illness implies that there aren’t any long-term therapies and no treatment. For the primary time, nonetheless, advances in AI imply innovators now have the chance to outpace the illness by unlocking huge portions of affected person knowledge which were generated within the final decade.
Tris Dyson, Managing Director at Problem Works who was recognized with ALS in 2023 stated:
“ALS is astonishingly advanced which is why it has been so tough to develop therapies that actually battle this hideous illness. Tireless fundraising within the final decade has created a wealth of information on ALS that simply didn’t exist earlier than, and we’re at a turning level.
“Within the final 12 months, Tofersen, the primary drug remedy to point out actual promise for individuals with the very uncommon inherited type of MND (affecting round 2% of sufferers), reveals that the illness is not a black field that we can not penetrate. We are actually on the best path for therapies for all MND sufferers – together with these of us residing with ALS. The actual recreation changer although is the speedy development of AI. It means we will flip the trail right into a superhighway.
“By no means earlier than have we had the facility to unlock the complexity of MND, and specifically ALS, and speed up alongside the highway to long-term therapies, and, I hope sooner or later, a treatment. The Longitude Prize on ALS makes this doable, convening the most important knowledge set of ALS affected person knowledge of its form ever made accessible and rewarding researchers to make use of AI to determine probably the most promising drug targets.”
New findings from a world survey of individuals residing with MND/ALS and family members of individuals residing with MND/ALS, within the UK, USA and Australia has discovered that an amazing majority (85%) say the world must pay better consideration to the illness. Simply 20% thought MND is taken into account a precedence by drug builders, and solely 9% say that it’s a precedence for his or her authorities.
85% say that know-how firms and analysis universities ought to work collectively extra carefully to determine therapies for MND, with 74% saying they want to see know-how firms put AI to good use and apply it to discovering a remedy.
3 in 10 (29 individuals consider that long run therapies or a treatment will likely be accessible for MND inside a decade, with an additional 18% believing it’s doable by 2045. 74% of respondents stated they might be joyful for his or her, or their liked one’s, organic knowledge to be shared with scientists and researchers to doubtlessly assist in new drug developments and coverings for MND.
HOW TO WIN THE LONGITUDE PRIZE ON ALS
The Longitude Prize on ALS is principally funded by the MND Affiliation and designed and delivered by Problem Works, supported by Nesta. Extra funders embrace Nesta, the Alan Davidson Basis, My Identify’5 Doddie Basis, LifeArc, FightMND, The ten,000 Brains Undertaking, Reply ALS and The Packard Heart at Johns Hopkins.
In search of innovators from throughout medical analysis, biotech, techbio, prescription drugs and AI, the Prize will initially reward 20 of probably the most promising entrants with ‘Discovery Awards’ of £100,000 every. Groups will likely be judged on the potential for his or her strategy to determine and validate drug targets driving understanding of the illness and supporting onward translation into drug discovery.
The entry window is open from in the present day and stays open till 3 December 2025. The 20 profitable entrants will likely be named within the first half of 2026.
Lucy Hawking, journalist and daughter of the MND Affiliation’s late Patron, Prof. Stephen Hawking stated:
“The Longitude Prize on ALS is a vital step in direction of rising our understanding of motor neurone illness, and particularly ALS. I hope the Longitude Prize will encourage using AI by researchers and scientists to achieve new insights into this devastating situation and advance the seek for therapies and a treatment. For individuals residing with the illness, their households, pals and carers worldwide, this may carry a lot reduction and pleasure. My father lived with MND for over 50 years, the longest recognized survivor with this situation and his nice want was that sooner or later, a treatment could be discovered. I’m proud to assist the Longitude Prize and want all entrants the perfect.”
Tanya Curry, Chief Government on the Motor Neurone Illness Affiliation stated:
“Empowering a few of the brightest minds throughout science and know-how to come back collectively, the Longitude Prize on ALS will provoke transformative change for individuals residing with motor neurone illness. We’re investing as a principal funder as enabling such collaborations, in addition to the extent of unprecedented knowledge we’re working to unlock, marks the beginning of a major milestone for drug discovery, the MND Affiliation and wider MND neighborhood in how we perceive and consequently deal with the illness.”
Problem Works will assist the highest 20 most promising purposes who present excessive potential in each their proposed methodology and staff make-up, which ought to carry collectively experience from throughout a number of disciplines together with ALS analysis and computational biology.
Past monetary reward, profitable candidates will acquire entry to the most important and most complete collections of ALS affected person knowledge of its form ever assembled, combining a number of kinds of organic data and introduced collectively particularly for the Prize. This helps tackle a significant problem in ALS analysis, the place knowledge is commonly fragmented and tough to entry on account of differing codecs and restrictions.
The Longitude Prize on ALS gives members entry to knowledge at an unprecedented scale. The dataset will likely be made accessible through DNANexus, hosted on Amazon Net Providers, supplied in partnership with Undertaking MinE, Reply ALS, New York Genome Heart (NYGC), ALS Compute and the ALS Remedy Growth Institute.
Professor Ammar Al-Chalabi, Director of the UK Motor Neuron Illness Analysis Institute stated:
“Revolutionary approaches to drug discovery might be recreation altering when it comes to how we perceive ALS. Utilizing AI-led innovation to uncover particular molecules within the physique linked to the illness that may be focused with a drug is step one to discovering efficient therapies. The chance The Longitude Prize on ALS presents is big.”
After the preliminary £100,000 ‘Discovery Awards’ have been awarded in 2026, ten groups will progress to a second stage, receiving an additional £200,000 in 2027 to construct the proof base for his or her proposed therapeutic targets in silico and within the lab. In 2028, 5 groups will then obtain £500,000 to undertake validation of the best potential recognized targets within the moist lab. The successful staff will likely be introduced in early 2031 and will likely be awarded £1 million for figuring out the goal with the strongest proof of therapeutic potential.
The Longitude Prize on ALS is the third Longitude Prize run by Problem Works to incentivise breakthrough options for a few of the world’s most difficult points. It follows the success of the Longitude Prize on AMR that introduced a winner in 2024, and the Longitude Prize on Dementia that can announce a winner in 2026.
For extra data and to enter the Longitude Prize on ALS, go to als.longitudeprize.org
