Executive Summary
Mission
The mission of CureNeuro is to accelerate the development
of treatments and cures for neurological diseases by facilitating
open, collaborative research in the neurosciences.
Background
The economic burden of treating brain related diseases
is greater than that of any other disease area. Currently,
there are no effective treatments or cures for many neurological
diseases. Furthermore, R&D costs are higher and the
process is lengthier due to the brain’s complexity.
It is projected that the incidence of these diseases is
only going to increase. Clearly we face an impending crisis
if we are not proactive about accelerating the drug discovery
process. CureNeuro has conceived of the NeuroNet as a virtual
tool for addressing these challenges with the end goal of
preventing a wide scale crisis and alleviating suffering.
Need: A New Model for Medical Research
The conventional model for the research and development
of therapies and cures for neurological diseases is not
as fast and efficient as current technology allows. The
ability to work in partnership is frequently hampered by
proprietary funding mechanisms and the lack of a comprehensive
communication hub between stakeholders. The potential for
vastly accelerating R&D exists by facilitating broad
based collaboration and synergy between researchers, clinicians,
funders, and disease specific stakeholders. With the appropriate
tools for connectivity and access to efficient funding,
researchers can increase their personal productivity while
participating in the cumulative momentum of their peers.
In this way, promising and worthwhile projects that could
die on the vine, or might otherwise never be conceived,
will lead to groundbreaking discoveries leading to treatments
and cures for neurological diseases.
The Role of CureNeuro
CureNeuro is dramatically enhancing collaboration by bridging
communication gaps between researchers, clinicians, nonprofits,
corporations and investors in neurological research. By
meaningfully connecting stakeholders CureNeuro acts as a
pivotal hub in the neuroscience community, energizing novel
partnerships and accelerating the development of treatments
and cures.
The NeuroNet
The NeuroNet is an internet based research and funding
network specifically designed to address structural communication
and funding challenges in the development of treatments
and cures for neurological diseases. It does this by:
- Providing a private and secure environment in which
researchers can freely collaborate and exchange ideas
at all stages of their work
- Aligning researchers with investors who have a specific
interest in the types of research they are conducting
- Empowering patients and individuals whose lives have
been affected by neurological diseases to get directly
involved--at any level--by choosing to support areas of
research that they believe will have the greatest impact
Researchers will gain access to vast real-time feedback
and collaborative networks at a rate and depth heretofore
unrealized while spending less time and energy seeking funding
– thereby expediting the process of eradicating debilitating
diseases like Alzheimer’s, ALS, Huntington’s,
MS, Parkinson’s, and hundreds of variants.
While the NeuroNet utilizes the well known open source
principles of collaboration, transparency and accessibility,
its structure is unique, simultaneously providing a private
and secure environment for idea exchange and access to diverse
funding opportunities.
Researchers, funders, clinicians and other stakeholders
can interact with various degrees of security and information
sharing depending on their interest in specific subject
matter, time commitment and professional role. Even a basic
level of participation connects stakeholders with the most
relevant peer group in the world to immediately aggregate
and process their work.
Importantly, the inclusion of microfinance options for
investors increases the likelihood of participation by private
citizens, thereby increasing funding possibilities for researchers
and providing new avenues for individuals interested in
supporting neurological research.
For researchers: The development of the
NeuroNet will free up time for researchers who would like
to focus on their work rather than on lengthy, tedious grant
applications that traditionally take up so much of their
time.
Additionally, they need not wait for a pertinent conference
for cutting edge ideas, solicit feedback for work in progress,
impede idea evolution while waiting for a peer reviewed
journal to diseminate their seminal work, or miss targetted
and efficient funding opportunities.
For investors: Investors can support research
projects in their specific areas of interest with assurance
that their funds are being channeled efficiently, with accountability,
and with the expectation that outcomes will be accessible
at all stages of the research process.
The NeuroNet will give investors at every level the unique
opportunity to become active participants in the process
of facilitating delivery of promising treatments and cures
for brain diseases.
Outcomes
The synergistic environment that CureNeuro provides will
promote virtual opportunities for researchers to explore
common disease pathways and underlying mechanisms. This
will ultimately accelerate our understanding of brain diseases,
encourage a more unified global voice in the neurosciences,
and act as critical inertia towards treatments and cures
for neurological diseases.
Events / Fundraisers
CureNeuro will create, develop and execute fundraising
and publicity events for the benefit of CureNeuro and other
nonprofit partner organizations. Although these events will
be designed primarily as revenue streams, they will also
promote the mission of CureNeuro to a greater public audience.
