Working at the forefront of neurodegenerative disease research

In the UK, over 1 million people are living with a neurodegenerative disease. These include conditions such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and multiple sclerosis. It’s an area of unmet clinical need. Despite high levels of research expenditure, there is a lack of effective new treatments.

In response, the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) committed over €380 million on a diverse portfolio of more than 20 different research projects. Their purpose was to better understand and develop treatments for neurodegenerative conditions. Key areas of focus included improved frameworks for risk factor screening and innovative trials for disease prevention.

The Neuronet project

NICE was a key partner in the 3-year Neuronet programme, which completed in August 2022.

Neuronet aimed to connect the IMI projects on a single platform to:

• help scientists identify gaps in research

• make findings more visible for society as a whole

• create links between IMI projects and other international research initiatives.

Our role in the project was to analyse the IMI neurodegenerative disease research portfolio and investigate its impact. We also chaired a working group on the health technology assessment and regulatory challenges that are unique to medicines for neurodegenerative diseases.

Results

The Neuronet project has produced some useful tools to help developers of treatments for neurodegenerative conditions get their products to patients faster.

• Knowledge base. Brings together key information about the various projects in the IMI neurodegeneration portfolio. We identified tangible actions to enhance collaboration between project partners. These recommendations could help increase the efficiency and impact of future public-private partnerships on neurodegeneration.

• Asset map. Details all the resources resulting from the different IMI projects. These outputs, which include training materials, biological sample data and ethical frameworks, bring real value to the neurodegenerative disease research field.

• Decision tool. The tool provides an interactive overview of how developers should engage with European regulatory and health technology assessment bodies. It includes helpful case studies and signposts to useful resources.

Find out more

If you’re keen to learn more, along with our partners, we’ve published 2 articles in the Frontiers in Neurology journal:

• ‘The IMI neurodegeneration portfolio: From individual projects to collaborative networks’.

• ‘Participating in IMI funded neurodegenerative disorder projects - An impact analysis conducted as part of the Neuronet project’.

If you work in neurodegenerative disease research and you’d like to learn more about the project, please get in touch by emailing  research@nice.org.uk.

Please note: The IMI helped to fund the Neuronet project. The IMI receives support from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations, and the UK Parkinson's Disease Society.