Alternative strategies in ALS

Biogen Idec Inc. and Evotec AG are taking opposite strategies to finding new therapies for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a disease with an unknown mechanism. Whereas Biogen Idec is forming partnerships with multiple academic labs to solve the biology of the disease, Evotec is partnering with the Harvard Stem Cell Institute at Harvard Universityto employ phenotypic screens that circumvent the need to understand the mechanism from the outset.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a severe neurodegenerative disease in which progressive loss of motor neurons leads to muscle weakness, atrophy and respiratory failure. Despite recent advances in understanding the genetics of the disease,¹ the biological trigger of the nerve cell loss remains unclear and therapeutic targets remain elusive...