Cused on their specific field of expertise. With little or no collaboration, discoveries are transferred by publication, resulting in sequential investigations and greatly expanding the length of time necessary for validation and translation to further drug development and clinical trials,” he says. He came PubMed ID:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28914615 up with a ICG-001 web different model. The Myelin Repair Foundation set about finding a way to accelerate the basic science necessary to achieve its goal of licensing at least one myelin repair drug target by 2009 that would lead to treatments for multiple sclerosis. To accomplish this, the Foundation developed what it calls the Accelerated Research CollaborationTM (ARC; the name is trademarked, actually) model, a business-science hybrid model for medical research that was designed to break down what Johnson saw as the barriers inherent in the traditional medical research model. He thought that, if he was right, this new model might be able to drive new discoveries toward clinical trials in record time. Instead of the traditional single-investigator-driven model typical in virtually all academic research, the ARC model combines the efforts of multiple investigators into a collaborative, outcome-focused effort. Johnson tried to identify a set of top-flight basic research laboratories, some of which were not initially working directly on multiple sclerosis, and convinced them to get interested in both the disease and his approach to tackling it. Selection was based on their complementary knowledge and expertise, and their past contributions to understanding the key biological processes and interactions that control myelination. These were people who would quite likely have been competitors in the traditional research model. Five labs were chosen, scattered all over the US and Canada. To enable communication amongGenome Biology 2006, 7:121.2 Genome Biology 2006,Volume 7, Issue 12, ArticlePetskohttp://genomebiology.com/2006/7/12/them, the Foundation set up a web-enabled infrastructure designed to facilitate daily interaction and data exchanges; discoveries are therefore shared immediately, without the delays associated with the publication of scientific papers. A requirement of being part of the ARC scientific team is the commitment to design experiments that are part of a larger research plan focused on identifying therapeutic targets that will lead to patient treatments. The model provides a framework for establishing membership and technology transfer agreements with each participating university. Patents are filed on all discoveries that may contribute to potential treatments. The Foundation believes the ARC model can be applied to any medical research problem once relevant basic scientific discoveries have been made. It states that more than 40 different disease research organizations have made contact with the Myelin Repair Foundation to learn about the ARC model and its potential application to each organization’s research; these include the American Cancer Society, The Down Syndrome Research and Treatment Foundation, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and the Harvard Stem Cell Institute. It’s important to get past the marketing language and the PowerPoint slides showing in iconic form the revolutionary new approach to doing science. Versions of what the Myelin Repair Foundation is trying to do have existed for decades, differing in details but not in aims or overall philosophy. What is significant about the Foundation and its ARC mode.
