PROGRAM PARTNERS
Multiple Sclerosis 1.0:
Accelerated Cure Project | for Multiple Sclerosis
Accelerated Cure Project for Multiple Sclerosis (ACP) is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to accelerate efforts to improve the quality of life for people with multiple sclerosis (MS), to cure the disease and, ultimately, prevent it.
We believe that research is the only way to greatly improve the outlook for people with MS. ACP promotes scientific collaboration and accelerates research by rapidly and cost-effectively providing researchers with data and biospecimens they need to explore novel research ideas that can lead to better care for people with MS.
ACP’s strategic initiatives include:
- The OPT-UP Program – a large-scale, real-world treatment outcomes clinical study and collaborative research program to optimize treatment of MS and understand progressive disability.
- The ACP Repository – a collection of highly-characterized biosamples and data from over 3,000 subjects, available to scientists conducting research that can positively impact people with MS.
- The Multiple Sclerosis Discovery Forum – an online community connecting, educating and challenging researchers.
Our innovative approach enables MS research to advance rapidly and catalyzes collaborative efforts toward a significant impact on this devastating disease. ACP’s resources have supported 70 research studies worldwide and generated almost 300 million returned data points for collaborative data mining and disease modeling.
Brigham and Women’s Hospital
The Institute for the Neurosciences at Brigham and Women’s Hospital is a world-renowned leader in research into the mechanism of brain diseases and in developing innovative treatments for patients affected by a broad spectrum of neurologic and psychiatric diseases. It provides a unique, transformational approach to care for patients and their families. The Institute for Neurosciences spans the realms of neurosurgery, neurology, psychiatry, neuroradiology, and related basic science disciplines, encompassing experienced and innovative investigators, leading-edge technology and a spirit of collaboration; jointly these provide the necessary foundation for initiating a new wave of clinical and research breakthroughs and creating a brighter future for healing the human brain and mind.
Exaptive
Exaptive is a faster, more flexible software platform for building data applications that maximizes code reuse from project to project and accelerates hypothesis generation and discovery. Founded in 2011 and based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Exaptive’s work is breaking new ground in health and biotech data-analytics where dispersed, dynamic, multi-disciplinary data is the preeminent challenge.
Exaptive sees data, algorithms, and data visualizations as modular components that can be connected and taken apart like Lego blocks for faster, more flexible iteration. It integrates dispersed data in real-time and empowers analysts to plug-and-play with algorithms and visualizations, coded in or outside of Exaptive, to experiment with data more cost-effectively. End users can also leverage seamless, customized software that goes beyond data reporting to interactive applications that translate analysis to action.
Exaptation is the biological phenomenon by which a trait originally adapted for one purpose is co-opted for a different purpose, often with great evolutionary implications. Feathers, for example, thought of as a tool for flight, originally evolved because they trapped heat. Exaptive, Inc. was founded on the belief that this phenomenon applies equally to human insight and innovation, such as Gutenberg inventing the printing press after seeing a wine press at work in a vineyard. Albert Einstein wrote, Combinatory play seems to be the essential feature in productive thought. By creating a software environment in which conceptual boundary-crossing is possible through the repurposing of data, algorithms, and visualizations, we envision a cross-disciplinary playground with unmatched combinatorial potential for creativity, epiphany, and innovation.
GNS Healthcare
GNS Healthcare is a big data analytics company that has developed a scalable approach for the discovery of what works in healthcare, and for whom. Our analytics solutions are being applied across the healthcare industry: from pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, health plans and hospitals, to integrated delivery systems, pharmacy benefits managers, and accountable care organizations. From organizations delivering care to companies developing personalized therapies and diagnostics, GNS Healthcare is helping healthcare leaders discover the knowledge they need to match patients with treatments that work.
Metacell
MetaCell is a systems biology informatics company dedicated to inspiring a greater understanding and appreciation for complex biological systems through highly compelling, effortless, and beautiful software interfaces.
MetaCell’s platform lets researchers skip right to the science, without worrying about the technology. By merging knowledge from different scales, from cellular structure to organism behavior, MetaCell enables the creation of dynamic models of living systems. Through its partnership with the OpenWorm project, MetaCell is focused on creating the world’s first open-source virtual organism in the cloud.
PatientsLikeMe
PatientsLikeMe is committed to putting patients first. We do this by providing a better, more effective way for patients to share real-world health experiences with each other and organizations focused on their conditions.
PatientsLikeMe was co-founded in 2004 by three MIT engineers – brothers Benjamin and James Heywood and longtime friend Jeff Cole – following the diagnosis of their brother and friend Stephen Heywood with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) at the age of 29. Inspired by Stephen’s experiences, the co-founders and team conceptualized and built a health data-sharing platform that we believe can transform the way patients manage their own conditions, change the way industry conducts research, and improve patient care.
Today, PatientsLikeMe is a for-profit company, but not one with a “just for profit” mission. We follow four core values: putting patients first, promoting transparency (“no surprises”), fostering openness and creating “wow.” We’re guided by these values as we continually enhance our platform to help patients share and learn from real-world, outcome-based health data. We’ve centered our business on these values by aligning patient and industry interests through data-sharing partnerships. We work with trusted non-profit, research, and industry partners who use this data to improve products, services and care for patients.
Thomson Reuters
Knowledge around disease pathways is rapidly increasing. Contextualizing systems biology data for life science research and drug discovery expands the possibilities for successful R&D. Thomson Reuters manually curated systems biology intelligence and unique understanding of pathways, Omics, and pharmacology make us the trusted partner of research institutions and R&D departments all over the world.
We combine expert analysis in use of our content and technology assets, proprietary analytical and visualization tools, and deep expertise in the pharmaceutical and life sciences business to develop tailored solutions that meet the industry’s unique business needs for faster, more informed decisions with higher confidence. From discovery to launch and beyond, at every stage of the pipeline our experts and intelligence put us in the unique position to help research organizations accomplish their goals.
