Allen Institute’s big new bet: $400M effort aims to go from mapping the brain to treating disease

The Allen Institute has launched the Brain Health Accelerator, a new $400 million initiative aimed at developing gene therapies for neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s disease, ALS, and Lewy body dementia.

 

The Seattle-based effort builds on more than two decades of brain mapping research and will initially employ nearly 60 people, with plans to grow to a 200-person team over time. The initiative is supported by funding from the Fund for Science and Technology, the Bezos family, Amazon Web Services, the NIH, and other partners, with a goal of advancing a therapy into clinical trials within five years. As Brain Health Accelerator Director Ed Lein explained, the approach seeks to create “a whole new brand of therapeutics that, instead of targeting a protein, targets the cells in the circuits that are affected in disease.”

 

The Brain Health Accelerator strengthens the Seattle region’s position as a leader in neuroscience and biotechnology innovation while creating new opportunities to translate foundational research into treatments that could improve patient outcomes worldwide.