2007 Annual Report - Foundation for the National Institutes of Health

Measures for Clinical Trials of
Treatment of Cognition
In 2007, the Foundation for NIH secured $1.6 million
in funding from eight industry partners to launch the
Measures for Clinical Trials of Treatment of Cognition
project. This partnership supports a National Institute
of Mental Health (NIMH) initiative to develop a set of
tools that can assess the effectiveness of drugs used to
treat schizophrenia.
The initiative will also translate and adapt a series of
tests to measure cognitive performance. This Matrix
Consensus Cognitive Battery will be standardized for use
in international clinical trials.
Schizophrenia is a chronic, severe brain disorder that
affects over one percent of the U.S. population. Because
many sufferers have difficulty holding a job or caring
for themselves, the burden on their families and society
is significant. Current treatments fall short of relieving
many symptoms.
NIMH manages the partnership, while the foundation
coordinates a Scientific Board comprising representatives
from NIH, FDA, industry, academia, and the
advocacy community.
Contributors to the Measures
For Clinical Trials of Treatment
of Cognition include
AstraZeneca
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
Eli Lilly & Company
GlaxoSmithKline
Lundbeck
Ortho-McNeil Janssen
Pfizer Inc
sanofi-aventis
Cognitive Aging Summit
In a partnership with the McKnight Brain Research Foundation (MBRF), the National Institute
on Aging (NIA) convened a Cognitive Aging Summit in October to further the understanding of
cognitive and behavioral changes associated with normal aging. Facilitated by the Foundation
for NIH, the summit assembled experts from a variety of scientific disciplines to discuss the
latest advances, explore new avenues for potential research, and raise awareness about the
importance and value of research in the process of learning and in the maintenance of cognitive
health with age.
Summit participants identified research opportunities that could be pursued through future
partnerships, and a program of research grants to be jointly funded by NIA and MBRF was
approved and is scheduled to begin in 2009. Each organization has committed at least $1 million
per year for a period of five years in support of this important research partnership.
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