In an Insight published this Friday, April 17 in The Lancet Neurology, the four partners of the European CURE-ND alliance, including the Institut du Cerveau, present a joint analysis highlighting their shared ambition: to structure an integrated response at the European level to accelerate research, foster therapeutic innovation, and concretely improve the lives of patients facing neurodegenerative diseases.
Launched in 2020, CURE-ND (Catalyzing a United Response in Europe for Neurodegenerative Diseases) brings together four leading institutes in Europe: the Deutsches Zentrum für Neurodegenerative Erkrankungen (Germany), Mission Lucidity at the Leuven Brain Institute (Belgium), the UK Dementia Research Institute (United Kingdom), and the Paris Brain Institute (France). This strategic alliance now unites more than 2,500 researchers and clinicians, with the ambition of structuring an open, integrated, world-class research ecosystem.
A collaborative collaboration
Faced with the complexity and urgency of neurodegenerative diseases, CURE-ND is built on a collaborative approach that brings together the strengths of its four partners. The initiative aims to harmonize cohorts of patients and volunteers, share large-scale multimodal data, and leverage artificial intelligence tools. The goal is to better understand disease determinants, identify reliable biomarkers, and accelerate the development of new therapies.
One of the consortium’s major challenges is to reshape the very definition of these diseases, shifting from a symptom-based approach to a refined molecular characterization. This evolution is essential to enable the emergence of personalized medicine, based on biomarkers and precise biological profiles, and to improve the design and efficiency of clinical trials.
In this context, CURE-ND is developing innovative and flexible clinical infrastructures capable of supporting multicenter trials at the European scale, as well as drug discovery programs based on advanced experimental platforms, notably induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and multi-omics approaches.
CURE-ND4ALS: a flagship program focused on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
As a flagship program of this dynamic, CURE-ND4ALS, initiated in 2025, focuses on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). It notably aims to structure finely characterized European cohorts, optimize therapeutic development pipelines, and facilitate the implementation of innovative clinical trials. This program, made possible by the highly active philanthropic initiative of Olivier Goy, ambassador of the Institut du Cerveau living with ALS, is intended to serve as a model for other neurodegenerative diseases.
Placing patients at the heart of its approach, CURE-ND works closely with patient associations to ensure the relevance, ethics, and real-world impact of its research. By strengthening high-level collaborations at the European and international levels, while fostering a spirit of solidarity and inclusivity, the consortium aims to significantly accelerate scientific progress and its translation into tangible benefits for those affected.
