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LifeArc

A not-for-profit medical research organisation that turns promising scientific research into impact for people living with rare diseases and areas of global health.

About LifeArc

LifeArc forms partnerships and provides scientific expertise and funding to help break down the barriers preventing scientific breakthroughs from becoming life-transforming treatments and cures. Their goal is to help create a world where no one with a rare disease misses out on life-changing innovation because of complexity, cost or risk.

They have been doing this for more than 30 years, which has resulted in five licensed medicines, including cancer drug pembrolizumab (Keytruda®) and lecanemab for Alzheimer’s (Leqembi®).

LifeArc scientists in the lab

Working with UK DRI

LifeArc scientists pipetting in the lab

In 2022, LifeArc committed £30M in a new partnership with the UK DRI. A total of £14.5M has been allocated thus far to support seven innovative projects seeking to develop new tests, treatments and medical devices for the more than one million people in the UK living with neurodegenerative conditions including Alzheimer’s disease, motor neuron disease, frontotemporal dementia and Parkinson’s disease. The exciting projects range from repurposing existing drugs, to developing brand new therapeutic targets.

As well as translational award rounds, UK DRI scientists benefit from world-leading technology transfer and translational science expertise and access to LifeArc’s therapeutic and diagnostic/antibody platforms. These expertise and services help move research further down the discovery pipeline, making projects less risky and more attractive to future partners, such as pharmaceutical companies, who can take them into clinical trials needed to develop new treatments.