02 Apr 2004

The science policy news service Washington Fax reported on March 30 that the Coalition of Hope, a collection of advocacy groups brought together by the Alzheimer's Association, seeks to add $40 million to the NIH budget for AD research in FY2005, and ultimately to raise federal AD funding to $1 billion annually.

Washington Fax reports that NIH would spend roughly $699 million on Alzheimer's disease research under its proposed FY 2005 budget, a 2.8 percent increase over estimated FY 2004 spending, according to figures released by NIH at a March 23 Senate Appropriations Committee Labor-HHS Subcommittee hearing.

According to Washington Fax, NIA Director Richard Hodes noted that the relatively flat budget growth in recent years has reduced his institute’s funding rate to 15 percent of received applications, down from 25 percent. Moreover, the NIA has cut the size of the average award by about 18 percent, Hodes said.

To help maintain the momentum achieved by the AD research community in the face of such constraints, the Alzheimer's Association formally announced the formation of the Coalition of Hope. The coalition began to work toward its ultimate goal of $1 billion in annual federal spending on AD by calling for an extra $40 million in NIH AD research funding in FY 2005, Washington Fax reported. For more information on recent initiatives by the Alzheimer's Association, read the Alzforum interview with the Association's president, Sheldon Goldberg.

Among the research programs discussed at the hearing were the AD Genetics Initiative and the AD Neuroimaging Initiative, according to the news service. The Genetics Initiative, which will create a repository of DNA and cell lines from families with multiple AD cases to help identify genetic and environmental risk factors and their interactions, has recruited 200 of the 1,000 families needed, with 800 blood samples collected. The Neuroimaging Initiative will evaluate the effectiveness of imaging techniques in the early diagnosis of AD and identify markers for monitoring treatment response. It will make its first awards this summer, Hodes testified. NIA expects to provide $12 million in 2004 funding for the initiative and will support it for up to five years, Washington Fax reported.—Gabrielle Strobel.