Join our ‘Repurposing Open Call’ Thunderclap!

by | Feb 17, 2017

Rare Disease Day – Tuesday 28th February – will unite rare disease patients, carers, patient groups, researchers, academics and many more people across the globe in celebration of all things rare. In addition to holding our Drug Repurposing for Rare Diseases Conference, we at Findacure will also be marking the day with the launch of our ‘Rare Repurposing Open Call’.

The open call is an opportunity for researchers, patient groups, clinicians and others to submit their drug repurposing ideas in exchange for help from us and our partners at Cures Within Reach and Healx. Together, we hope to lift these drug repurposing ideas off the ground, ultimately resulting in the delivery of affordable treatments to rare disease patients.

If you’re unsure of what ‘drug repurposing’ is (or the ‘social impact bond’ (SIB) we hope to use to support submitted projects), head over to our Rare Disease Drug Repurposing Social Impact Bond page. It’s a worthwhile read for a worthwhile project!

In order to maximise the success of the open call, we are hoping to reach as many researchers, patient groups, clinicians and academics as possible. This is where you come in.

We would be delighted if you could sign up to our ‘Thunderclap’. By signing up, you agree for the following Tweet to be posted to your own Twitter page at 2:30pm on Tuesday 28th February. As the Tweet will be going onto the Twitter profile of everybody who’s signed up at the same time, this should get our message out above all the other ‘noise’, and hopefully reach those with the ideas that will revolutionise treatments for rare disease patients.

Calling all #researchers and patient groups! We want your #RareDisease #DrugRepurposing ideas – #RareDiseaseDay

The Thunderclap will only be published if we reach a threshold of 100 sign ups – so as the saying goes, the more the merrier! We really need this to work, so please do your bit and sign your Twitter profile up today. If you have any questions or comments about the Thunderclap, please email libbie@findacure.org.uk.

Full details about the type of projects we’re looking for and how partnerships will work will be released to this webpage at launch on the 28th February. However, for the keen among you, here is a snapshot of what we’re looking for:

  • The request is specifically for phase II efficacy trials for repurposed generic drugs to treat rare genetic conditions.
  • Ideal projects will have a target rare disease with no existing treatment; a candidate agent for repurposing supported by multiple pre-clinical studies; and have the potential to dramatically improve patient outcomes and reduce healthcare spend on treated patients.
  • Projects must have some form of collaborator in the UK, and the repurposed drug must be available in generic form in the UK.

If you have any questions about the drug repurposing project or open call, please contact rick@findacure.org.uk.