Cures Within Reach Receives Grant from Chan Zuckerberg Initiative to Fund Clinical Trials that Validate AI-Generated Drug-Disease Repurposing Matches

Trials have the potential to fast-track treatment options for patients with limited therapeutic alternatives

CHICAGO - Dec. 17, 2024 - PRLog -- Cures Within Reach (CWR), a global nonprofit that identifies and funds clinical trials testing approved therapies for unsolved diseases, has received a grant from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) to fund investigator-initiated, proof-of-concept trials to test already approved medicines (medical repurposing) and clinically validate artificial intelligence (AI)-generated drug–disease matches. These trials will use critical pre-clinical data generated by AI and will inform larger, confirmatory trials required for regulatory approval or off-label use.

"This is the first funded program that empowers clinicians anywhere to leverage sophisticated AI models for identifying and validating promising drug repurposing opportunities," said Barbara Goodman, president and CEO, Cures Within Reach. "By supporting the validation trials of these AI-generated drug-disease matches by researchers worldwide, we are removing critical barriers that have historically slowed medical progress. The public availability of this data will be critical in the ongoing AI model refinement and has the potential to accelerate global research and ensure that potentially life-saving treatments can reach patients everywhere, regardless of geography or resources. This approach, combined with our 20-year track record of successfully de-risking viable treatments to build the clinical evidence needed for on-and off-label use by physicians, creates a powerful new pathway for addressing unmet medical needs more quickly and cost-effectively."

The CZI grant also includes funding for important community engagement activities alongside each selected trial to expand inclusion of underrepresented patients in clinical research.

"The integration of AI into biomedical research is fundamentally changing how we identify disease targets and approach therapeutic strategies," said Jeanie Kim, program manager at CZI. "By engaging both patient communities and AI experts in the selection and testing of drug-target predictions, CWR is providing a framework for validating and iterating AI models towards endpoints and treatments that are truly transformational to those impacted by the disease. In addition, CWR's long-standing leadership in bringing repurposed treatments to patients with unmet medical needs will be a powerful lens through which to evaluate the promise of AI-driven predictions, particularly for rare diseases and other under-incentivized disease areas."

About Cures Within Reach
Cures Within Reach (CWR) is a US-based nonprofit leader testing already approved therapies for unsolved diseases by leveraging the speed, safety and cost-effectiveness of repurposing: driving more treatments to more patients more quickly. CWR provides seed funds for pivotal studies that, when successful, allow a catalytic effect of follow-on funding for trials that build clinical evidence for physicians to make decisions with their patients (called off-label use) or for regulatory approval. In addition to these AI validation trials, CWR's other 2025 initiatives include clinical trials impacting veterans, pediatrics and LMIC-based patients. CWR currently has a global portfolio of 50 funded trials at 38 institutions in 35 diseases in 12 countries. Visit cureswithinreach.org or contact Research@CuresWithinReach.org for more information.

About the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative was founded in 2015 to help solve some of society's toughest challenges — from eradicating disease and improving education, to addressing the needs of our communities. Through collaboration, providing resources and building technology, our mission is to help build a more inclusive, just and healthy future for everyone. For more information, please visit chanzuckerberg.com.