Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP, a multidisciplinary, integrated professional services firm, is proud to support the establishment of the NCATS Alliance (the Alliance). The Alliance has been launched with an initial group of eight leading health care organizations, including:
- FasterCures, a Center of Milken Institute
- Friedreich’s Ataxia Research Alliance (FARA)
- Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA)
- National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD)
- Pfizer
- PTC Therapeutics
- St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital
- Vesalius Therapeutics
The NCATS Alliance was founded with the goal of advancing the critical work of the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), one of 27 institutes and centers within the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Over the past decade, NCATS has helped bring 44 FDA-approved drugs for rare diseases to market, developed the largest repository of COVID-19 clinical data in the United States for research and supported the work of a vast network of groundbreaking research institutions.
“NCATS is dedicated to streamlining the scientific discovery process by addressing longstanding bottlenecks in the pipeline of translating research into successful health solutions so new treatments can reach patients faster,” said NCATS Director Dr. Joni Rutter at a Manatt Health webinar last month. “We conduct this work through establishing valuable partnerships and engaging with communities and patients themselves to understand the key issues they’re facing. As we continue to develop innovative methods to diagnose, treat and cure rare and common diseases, the work of the NCATS Alliance will be critical.”
The NCATS Alliance aims to help transform and accelerate translational sciences research and development in order to more efficiently detect and treat a wide range of human disease. It strives to educate the public and policymakers about the vital role of NCATS. Additionally, the Alliance aims to secure sustained appropriations to support NCATS in leading the innovation of translational science research to improve the health and well-being of patients across the nation.
“Over the past decade, we’ve witnessed an exponential jump in innovation around the development of groundbreaking new treatments, allowing us to better understand what is causing various diseases and develop therapies that work for those impacted,” said Rachel L. Sher, partner with Manatt and lead counsel to the NCATS Alliance. “These significant strides would not be possible without NCATS’ impactful work in this ecosystem. Manatt is proud to have played a leadership role in helping to establish the Alliance and to support its mission and operations going forward.”
Since its founding, other members of the NCATS Alliance include Datavant and Palantir (leaders in NCATS’ N3C program) and Everylife Foundation for Rare Diseases. The Alliance will continue to recruit a diverse set of stakeholders, including from the biopharmaceutical and biotechnology industry, patient advocacy organizations, academic research institutions, and other nonprofit and private sector innovators.
For more information about the NCATS Alliance, click here.
To find out more about joining the NCATS Alliance, sign up here.