Partnerships Link Firms, Nonprofits

The ALS Association has awarded Cambria Biosciences a $3.5 million contract to develop drugs blocking a mutant protein that, when misfolded, aggregates in the motor neurons of people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The grant expands an earlier relationship between the nonprofit and the biotech firm, which received funding to develop neuroprotective compounds. Meanwhile, the nonprofit Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative and the drug discovery and development company Scynexis have established a five-year partnership to advance molecules against parasites carrying human African trypanosomiasis, a disease that is plaguing sub-Saharan Africa. The $17 million collaboration also includes partners at Genzyme and Pace University.