Major neurodegenerative disease research call begins

A €30m call has been launched by the EU’s Joint Programme on Neurodegenerative Disease Research (JPND) and the European Commission to help fund transnational research in three vital sectors.

The JPco-fuND call is supporting innovative, collaborative research across three key areas, namely ‘Longitudinal cohort approaches’, ‘Advanced experimental models’ and ‘Risk and protective factors’. The call is funded by €30m from JPND member countries, in addition to €10m from the Commission in top-up funding.

Making the announcement Professor Philippe Amouyel, chair of the JPND management board, “Neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, are a global health, economic and social emergency with numbers affected expected to double by 2030 and more than triple by 2050. With this in mind, JPND-participating countries have identified three further areas of greatest need for targeted investment in order to increase progress in the prevention and treatment of these diseases, as well as in patient care.

“This call is launched as part of a major new cohesive action between JPND and the European Commission entitled JPco-fuND – the first concrete synergy between JPND and Horizon 2020 designed to address the global threat of neurodegenerative diseases.”

Split over three topics, several neurodegenerative diseases are receiving funding, including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease and motor neurone diseases, amongst others. The call is open for applications until 10 March 2015 and more information can be found here.