NIH launches program for PD biomarkers
NIH's National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) launched the Parkinson's Disease Biomarkers Program (PDBP) to support the discovery and development of diagnostic and progression biomarkers for PD. The program -- which aims to help identify biomarkers to improve the efficiency and outcome of Phase II clinical trials for PD therapeutics -- also debuted an online data sharing platform to support collaborations. Researchers who receive funding from PDBP are required to share data; researchers who do not receive funding will also have access to shared data and will be encouraged to submit their data. The program also aims to bridge the gap between small pilot biomarker studies and validation studies of biomarker candidates and will support cohort studies that collect standardized longitudinal clinical data and biological samples across all stages of PD. Samples will be banked at the NINDS Human Genetics Repository. ...