Fast Forward News
Fast Forward Think Tank Explores Personalized Medicine and the Translation of High-Tech Lab Discoveries to Improving Treatment of MS. Read more...
Multiple Sclerosis Think Tank meets at North Carolina Research Campus
October 12, 2009
Fast Forward Announces Collaborative Alliance with the Accelerated Cure Project, a National Nonprofit Organization, to Support ACP's Tissue Repository Program
September 30, 2009
New York, NY and Waltham, MA
ACEing the MS test
Science-Business eXchange
BioCentury Publications, Inc. and Nature Publishing Group
by Lev Osherovich
September 10, 2009
Fast Forward contracts with IntraLinks to accelerate and facilitate its drug funding decisions
August 27, 2009
New York, NY
Fast Forward, LLC and Amplimmune, Inc. join forces to speed new treatment to people with MS
August 25, 2009
New York, NY and Rockville, MD
MS Research Accelerated to Help Patients
MyNC.com
Julie Henry
June 14, 2009
Fast Forward in MS
Science-Business eXchange
BioCentury Publications, Inc. and Nature Publishing Group
by Lev Osherovich
May 28, 2009
MS research takes fast step forward
Drug Discovery News
May 1, 2009
Fast Forward, LLC and Provid Pharmaceuticals announce partnership for development of PV-267, a unique compound intended to redirect the abnormal immune response in multiple sclerosis
May 5, 2009
New York, NY and North Brunswick, NJ
Fast Forward, LLC and EMD Serono announce collaboration to accelerate development of treatments for multiple sclerosis
March 18, 2009
Fast Forward, LLC and EMD Serono agree to work together to speed research development on a select group of high potential MS research projects with support of up to $19 million in funding...
Disease Charities Pursue Cures by Investing in Drug Start-Ups
February 10, 2009
The Wall Street Journal features an article on the trend of non-profit organizations supporting commercial drug research. Fast Forward's support of Apitope’s proof of principle clinical trial ATX-MS-1467, was highlighted in this story.
Small Biotechs Increasingly Seek Funds from Nonprofit Groups
January 22, 2009
A recent example is a $1 million grant...the funding came from the Fast Forward unit. Read more...
Licensing Agreement signed between Aptiope and Merck Serono is good news for Fast Forward and the development of the ATX-MS-1467
January 14, 2009
On December 23rd news went out announcing Fast Forward's first sponsored research agreement, wherein it awarded $1 million to the young biotechnology firm Apitope in order to conduct a proof of principle trial on a promising new treatment, ATX-MS-1467, intended to target and redirect immune response in MS. On January 13th, Apitope has further announced that it also entered into a licensing agreement with Merck Serono to collaborate on the development and commercialization of the ATX-MS-1467 therapy.
Fast Forward, LLC and Apitope International NV Announce $1 Million Partnership for Development of ATX-MS-1467 for Multiple Sclerosis
December 23, 2008
New York, USA and Hasselt, Belgium
Apitope International NV, the autoimmune peptide therapy company, and Fast Forward, LLC, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s subsidiary devoted to bridging the gap between research and drug development, today announced a partnership to support Apitope’s proof of principle clinical trial of ATX-MS-1467. This peptide therapeutic vaccine is designed to target and prevent the abnormal pathological immune response in multiple sclerosis (MS).
Nonprofit Funding Bio-tech Company
ABC News, Denver
December 28, 2008
Several small pharmaceutical companies and bio-tech companies are feeling the pinch.
Carrie Nolan, president of the Colorado chapter of the National MS Society weighs in on the challenges of bringing effective treatments for MS to the market in this difficult economy and how Fast Forward can fill the gap.
Neurodegeneration and MS: A Harvard NeuroDiscovery Center and Fast Forward Think Tank
December 3, 2008
What are the barriers to finding therapies that can stop and reverse the nervous system injury caused by multiple sclerosis? A think tank held by Fast Forward, LLC, the National MS Society's drug discovery venture, in collaboration with Harvard's NeuroDiscovery Center, gathered respresentatives from venture capital firms, voluntary health and patient advocacy groups, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, and university-based research scientists to share information and ideas around this issue and ways to overcome them. Read more...
Building from the Foundation
The Deal, by Alex Lash
May 9, 2008
Can charity boost capital in the biotechnology world? That’s a question startups should ask more often these days, as nonprofits increasingly deploy cash to speed up the long slog of drug development … Consultant Steven Jackson, who helped the National Multiple Sclerosis Society plan its Fast Forward corporate grant program, predicts drug industry venture philanthropy will exceed $250 million this year … Fast Forward executive director Tim Coetzee, for example, says he’ll negotiate convertible warrants over royalties. “With a warrant position, you can make a little money if the company is sold before the drug comes to market,” he says.
Fast Forward: more treatments, faster
Momentum, The Magazine of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society
Winter 2007-2008
Fast Forward program will bridge the gap between university research and drug development, speeding new treatments for people with MS.
National Multiple Sclerosis Society Creates Program to Translate Research to Therapies
Biotech Transfer Week newsletter
December 3, 2007
Timothy Coetzee, executive director of the new program, describes how the NMSS intends to bridge the gap between university research and commercial drug development in order to speed the commercialization of new treatments for MS.
MS Society Will Raise Money for Researchers
Denver Business Journal, Austin Business Journal, San Jose Business Journal
November 30, 2007
In developing new treatments to fight multiple sclerosis (MS), the National Multiple Sclerosis Society is taking a cue from venture capitalists. The nonprofit organization recently announced the creation of a technology-transfer initiative called Fast Forward LLC, which will provide financial support to startups and existing companies to develop new therapies and find new ways to use existing drugs for the treatment of MS.
National Multiple Sclerosis Society Launches Drug Development Initiative
Reuters
November 27, 2007
The National Multiple Sclerosis Society today announced the creation of Fast Forward LLC, a technology-transfer initiative aimed at translating promising laboratory discoveries into effective new treatments for multiple sclerosis. Fast Forward, a wholly owned subsidiary of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, will identify, evaluate and partner with start-up and existing companies to develop new therapies or repurpose existing drugs for the treatment of multiple sclerosis.