Prize4Life Celebrates One Year Anniversary of $1 Million ALS Biomarker Challenge

Nonprofit using incentives to stimulate research toward a cure.

Prize4Life has already encouraged and continues to encourage scientists and researchers from around the world, many of whom were not previously seeking a biomarker for ALS, to actively do so. We are making a positive difference in the ALS landscape.

Boston (PRWEB) November 6, 2007 -- Prize4Life, a nonprofit organization founded to accelerate research in Lou Gehrig's disease, is celebrating the one year anniversary of the release of its $1 million ALS biomarker challenge by launching a new outreach effort at the Society for Neuroscience 2007 Annual Meeting. Prize4Life has already awarded five $15,000 prizes for the best ideas submitted in approaches to ALS biomarker discovery. Anyone can submit a solution for the $1 million ALS biomarker challenge before the November 6th, 2008 deadline.

On success to date, Prize4Life CEO and ALS sufferer Avi Kremer remarked, "Prize4Life has already encouraged and continues to encourage scientists and researchers from around the world, many of whom were not previously seeking a biomarker for ALS, to actively do so. We are making a positive difference in the ALS landscape."

Nearly 900 people have registered and accessed details about the $1 million ALS biomarker prize via the InnoCentive website, an innovation company that is hosting the competition. During the initial idea phase of the challenge, Prize4Life received over 45 proposals and gave out five $15,000 awards to people ranging in backgrounds from a dermatologist to a biotech company focused on pathway-based drug discovery.
    
Participating in the idea contest is not a necessary prerequisite to compete in the $1 million ALS biomarker challenge. Researchers and scientists interested in offering a solution for the $1 million ALS biomarker challenge should register on Prize4Life's website www.prize4life.org.

About Prize4Life
Prize4Life is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that seeks to create breakthroughs in effective ALS/MND (Lou Gehrig's disease) treatments using the leverage of large inducement prizes. Inspired by the success of other inducement prizes (such as DARPA's Grand Challenge, NASA's Centennial Challenges, and the X Prize Foundation), Prize4Life launched a $1 Million ALS/MND Biomarker Challenge to stimulate scientific breakthroughs in ALS/MND. The organization will be launching several other multi-million dollar challenges in the near future.

Contact information:

Prize4Life, Inc.
www.prize4life.org
PO Box 381708
Cambridge, MA
02238-1708
Tel: 617.500.7527

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research science neurology disease nonprofit als/mnd biomarker challenge healthcare biotechnology als biomarker

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