NIH, MDA PARTNER TO FUND NEW MD RESEARCH CENTERS
RESULTING FROM MD-CARE ACT

TUCSON, Ariz., May 21, 2003 — The Muscular Dystrophy Association will supplement funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a component of the federal Department of Health and Human Services, for up to three muscular dystrophy cooperative research centers, MDA announced today.

The NIH support is an outgrowth of the MD-CARE (Muscular Dystrophy Community Assistance, Research and Education) Act, which was passed in 2001 through the efforts of MDA and other organizations.

“This partnership between NIH and MDA is a critical step toward furthering the objectives of the MD-CARE Act and improving quality of life for those affected by muscular dystrophy,” MDA President and CEO Robert Ross said. “MDA’s supplemental funding of the cooperative centers will provide the additional support essential to advancing highly focused muscular dystrophy research and training in medical management.”

Three institutes at NIH have combined efforts to create these new centers, which NIH will fund for a maximum of $1 million in direct costs per center per year for five years.

Once the centers have met NIH’s criteria for excellence and been approved for funding from NIH, MDA will offer supplements to NIH’s funding for a maximum of $500,000 per center per year for three years.

NIH guidelines require that each new center bring together “expertise, infrastructure and resources focused on major questions about muscular dystrophy.” Investigations may be in the areas of basic, clinical or behavioral science. The self-contained activities of each center will also be brought together in collaborative efforts with the other centers, which will be overseen by a steering committee consisting of NIH scientific staff, the center directors, a public member and a bioethicist.

The three sponsoring NIH institutes include the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD).

MDA is the nonprofit health agency dedicated to curing muscular dystrophy, ALS and related diseases by funding worldwide research. The Association also provides comprehensive health care and support services, advocacy and education. The Association's programs are funded almost entirely by individual private contributors.