There are currently no treatments to prevent or slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. Building on Indiana University School of Medicine’s well-established expertise in Alzheimer’s disease research, the Target Enablement to Accelerate Therapy Development for Alzheimer’s Disease (TREAT-AD) drug discovery center aims to address challenges in discovering new therapeutic targets and drugs for the disease and accelerate development of promising new treatments.
Led by Alan Palkowitz, PhD, the Alzheimer’s disease drug discovery center has partnered with researchers from Purdue University to leverage the extensive expertise of both institutions in Alzheimer’s disease biology and pharmaceutical drug discovery and development. Researchers identify the best drug targets—typically proteins in the body that may contribute to Alzheimer’s disease—from a list of potential candidates compiled by researchers nationwide, and discover new molecules that bind to those targets to control their function. In early stage laboratory research, scientists test these molecules to determine if they have potential to be further developed and evaluated in patients.
IU School of Medicine is one of only two institutions in the United States selected by the National Institute on Aging to improve, diversify and reinvigorate the Alzheimer’s disease drug development pipeline.
