Albany Molecular Research, Inc. (AMRI)

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AMRI awarded NIH contract worth as much as $43M
The Business Review - by Barbara Pinckney
Date: Friday, August 19, 2011, 11:07am EDT

AMRI has been awarded an NIH grant worth as much as $43 million.
Richard A. D'Errico | The Business Review

AMRI has been awarded an NIH grant worth as much as $43 million.

Albany Molecular Research Inc. has been awarded a National Institutes of Health contract that could be worth up to $43 million over five years.

The Albany, N.Y.-based company will provide chemistry and other drug discovery technologies to support efforts by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), an arm of the NIH, to develop pre-clincal drug candidates to treat diseases of the central nervous system.

AMRI has been collaborating with NINDS since 2005 on novel treatments for spinal muscular atrophy, a degenerative neuromuscular disease. The company now will provide its chemistry services to neuroscientists throughout the country with the goal of developing pre-clinical drug candidates suitable for advanced development and ultimately clinical trials in humans.

The company will receive initial funding of up to $10 million for the first phase of the project, expected to begin this month, with the objective of delivering at least one Phase I clinical trial candidate. It could receive up to $43 million based on the number of approved projects and availability of funds over five years.

Thomas D’Ambra, chairman, president and CEO of AMRI, said the company was chosen after a “highly competitive, rigorous application process.”

“We are pleased to support NIH/NINDS’ efforts and provide our discovery resources to the neuroscience research community and to patients who suffer from devastating neurological and degenerative diseases, such as macular degeneration and Alzheimer’s disease,” added Dr. D’Ambra. ...