ADVANCING RESEARCH AND THERAPEUTIC DEVELOPMENT
We believe that investing in Friedreich’s ataxia (FA) research will lead to the discovery and advancement of meaningful treatments and a cure for FA. FARA funds FA research through 3 different mechanisms: the grant program, institutional supported programs, and FARA directed projects. We believe the sum of these initiatives to be most impactful in advancing research and therapeutic development. Our goal is to drive the science, facilitate access to resources, promote collaboration among FA investigators, and encourage public/private partnerships.
The Friedreich’s Ataxia Global Clinical Consortium (FA GCC) is an international group of clinical research centers that work together to advance treatments and clinical care for individuals with Friedreich’s ataxia. The consortium collaborates with pharmaceutical companies, government agencies, other research centers, and the patient community to facilitate clinical research and trials needed to identify new therapies.
FARA’s Scientific Advisory Board and Board of Directors recognize the need to proactively direct research in high priority areas that are not fully addressed through the FARA grant program. These projects aim to fill gaps in knowledge, create resources and research tools, and promote new drug discovery with a pre-competitive focus.
By establishing these institutional programs and partnerships, FARA has promoted collaboration and synergy across basic, translational, and clinical research, provided a longer-term funding commitment for high risk-high reward research, attracted new investigators, and leveraged the institutions’ resources and engagement. FARA provides institutional based research support for the FA Center of Excellence at Penn Medicine/ Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the FA Accelerator program at the Broad Institute.
