COMPLETED Orphan Diseases: Identifying Genes and Novel Therapeutics to Enhance Treatment (IGNITE)
Orphan diseases are rare disorders that affect less than one in 2000 people in Canada or less than 200,000 individuals in the United States. But, collectively, the 7000 knownorphan diseases impact 1 in 12 Canadians, causing physical and mental hardship, and draining money and resources from our health care system.
The $4.9-million, Genome Canada-funded IGNITE project (Orphan Diseases: Identifying Genes and Novel Therapeutics to Enhance Treatment) is designed to help alleviate the impacts of orphan diseases, and provide new solutions for the patients, families and caregivers of this diverse range of human diseases.
The IGNITE project is focused on helping those with orphan diseases. It is designed to address the issue from a variety of angles, and has five clear goals:
- Discover the genes responsible for select orphan diseases in Atlantic Canada
- Pinpoint the molecules most likely to respond to therapeutics
- Identify drugs to treat these diseases
- Generate intellectual property for commercial licensing partnering
- Develop an integrated understanding of the regulations surrounding funding for orphan diseases, attitudes around genetic testing for these diseases, and best practices for providing test results
More about this project can be found on the IGNITE website.