Foundation for the National Institutes of Health

The foundation, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and Pfizer Global Research & Development, last month announced the launch of GAIN as a unique, public-private biomedical research partnership to start to unravel the genetic causes of common diseases over the next two to three years.

GAIN is designed to provide the data to help address key questions about the complex contributions of genes to human health and disease—with potentially major consequences for prevention and treatment.  Through a series of whole genome association studies, using samples from existing case-control studies of common disorders or diseases, the project will contribute to the identification of genetic pathways that make us susceptible to these diseases and will highlight new molecular targets for prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.  The resulting data will be made available—in a single, central database—for no-cost access by the scientific community.

Applications from investigators must include information such as:  the nature of study case and control populations; the phenotype and exposure information that the applicant is willing to place in a central database; the willingness of applicants to update phenotype data in the future; and, plans for analysis and replication studies for the GAIN-supported genotype data, etc.  Institutional support for a study to participate in GAIN will be required.

Once genotyping is complete, the genotype information and other related data, including phenotype and any exposure information, will be placed in a central database through which it will be made available to scientists in academia, government, and the private sector, free of charge, for analysis.  The database will be designed and managed by the NIH through its National Center for Biotechnology Information at the National Library of Medicine through funding support from GAIN.  All data will be released as rapidly as possible, with appropriate procedures in place to ensure data quality and to recognize the intellectual contributions of researchers.

Applications are invited from government, non-profit and for-profit institutions. To apply, investigators must submit an application to the Foundation for NIH at http://www.fnih.org/.  More detailed information, instructions on the application process, and an online application are available at: www.fnih.org/GAIN/GAIN_home.shtml.  All applications must comply with the instructions on the Web site to be accepted.

Applications are due May 9, 2006.

Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D., director of the National Human Genome Research Institute, chairs a steering committee that provides guidance to the Foundation for NIH for the initiative.  Joining Dr. Collins on the executive committee of the steering committee are: Thomas R. Insel, M.D., director of the National Institute of Mental Health; Eric S. Lander, Ph.D., director of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard; Patrice M. Milos, Ph.D., executive director, Molecular Profiling, Pfizer Global Research and Development, Pfizer Inc; and, Elizabeth G. Nabel, M.D., director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

Pfizer has led the private sector by committing scientific and financial support, including an initial $5 million to set up the management structure for GAIN, plus an estimated $15 million in genotyping capacity to study five common diseases. The genotyping services provided by Pfizer will come from its partnership with Perlegen Sciences, Inc., of Mountain View, CA.

In addition, Affymetrix, Inc., a Santa Clara, CA company that provides tools for use in genomics-related research, has agreed to provide its support to GAIN by donating 500K DNA microarrays, which will be used to find the genetic variations associated with two common diseases.  Abbott Laboratories, a diversified health care company headquartered in Abbott Park, IL, has also provided support to the initiative.  The Foundation for NIH is actively seeking additional partners, and anticipates strong interest in participating in GAIN among other industry leaders, disease advocacy groups, and philanthropists to enable the investigation of additional diseases.

The Foundation for the National Institutes of Health was established by the United States Congress to support the mission of the National Institutes of Health – improving health through scientific discovery.  The foundation identifies and develops opportunities for innovative public-private partnerships involving industry, academia, and the philanthropic community.  A non-profit, 501(c)(3) corporation, the foundation raises private-sector funds for a broad portfolio of unique programs that complement and enhance NIH priorities and activities.