Valby, 2014-03-31 16:00 CEST (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- H. Lundbeck A/S (Lundbeck), together with a number of other companies, is now entering into a collaboration with the Lieber Institute, which has the world’s largest collection of human brains from patients with psychiatric disorders. This collaboration will enable Lundbeck’s researchers to take decisive steps towards new and better treatment of the debilitating and life-long brain disease that is schizophrenia.
This joint project provides a unique opportunity to investigate how genes affect brain development and disorders of the brain. Based on knowledge of the biology of brain disease, researchers will simply be able to look at the brains of both sick and healthy individuals and establish a nuanced picture of how the biology of the disease can be expressed.
“We are excited to be involved in this project, because, for the very first time, we will have the opportunity to study the impact that genes have on the development of human brain tissue in the areas of the brain that are connected with schizophrenia. This will increase our understanding of what is going wrong in the diseased brain and also improve our chances of developing new drugs,” Kim Andersen, Vice President of Research for Lundbeck, said.
The goal is to make quick progress
The Lieber Institute for Brain Development has the world’s most extensive and exquisitely curated collection of human brain specimens, over 1300 brains, including across the normal human lifespan and hundreds of brain samples from individuals who had developmental brain disorders during their lives.
Researchers involved in this project will identify the biological and genetic processes that control development of the healthy brain and how these processes go wrong in brain disorders. ´The goal is to make quick progress in the understanding of how brain disorders develop and how they can be treated more effectively.
“Our goal in creating this collaboration with the private industry is to speed discoveries that may improve the lives of individuals suffering from brain disorders,” said Daniel R. Weinberger, M.D., Director and CEO of the Lieber Institute. “This consortium is a bold initiative with the potential to have broad relevance across the spectrum of human brain disorders. By uniting diverse scientists from different sectors, we have created a new model of cooperative research that is designed to accomplish ambitious goals with efficiency and focus.”
In addition to Lundbeck the project also involves the pharmaceutical companies Astellas, Pfizer, Roche and Eli Lilly. Researchers from these otherwise competing companies will openly cooperate with researchers from the Lieber Institute on advancing brain-science and only there after start competing on developing new medicines.
Contacts
Mads Kronborg, Media Relations Manager
Telephone (direct): +45 36 43 28 51
About Lundbeck
H. Lundbeck A/S (LUN.CO, LUN DC, HLUYY) is a global pharmaceutical company specialised in brain diseases. For more than 50 years, we have been at the forefront of research within neuroscience. Our development and distribution of pioneering treatments continues to make a difference to people living with brain diseases. Our key areas of focus are alcohol dependence, Alzheimer’s disease, depression/anxiety, epilepsy, Huntington’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, schizophrenia and stroke.
Our approximately 6,000 employees in 57 countries are engaged in the entire value chain throughout research, development, production, marketing and sales, and are committed to improving the quality of life of people living with brain diseases. Our pipeline consists of several late-stage development programmes and our products are available in more 100 countries. We have research centres in China, Denmark and the United States, and production facilities in China, Denmark, France, Italy and Mexico. Lundbeck generated revenue of approximately DKK 15 billion in 2013 (EUR 2.0 billion; USD 2.7 billion).
For further information please visit www.lundbeck.com.
About the Lieber Institute
The Lieber Institute for Brain Development is an independent, not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organisation, and a Maryland tax-exempt medical research institution. The Lieber Institute is an affiliate of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and is located on the Johns Hopkins Medical Campus in the new Johns Hopkins Bioscience Park in East Baltimore.
The mission of the Lieber Institute for Brain Development is to translate the understanding of basic genetic and molecular mechanisms of schizophrenia and related developmental brain disorders into clinical advances that change the lives of affected individuals.
