News Release

After collecting blood samples/data from over 1,400 MS patients and controls across U.S., nonprofit poised to grow central database/collect samples at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, MA

(Waltham, MA March 6, 2009) -- Accelerated Cure Project for Multiple Sclerosis, a national nonprofit organization, today announced that they have finalized plans with R. Philip Kinkel, MD, FAAN and the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) in Boston, to begin the collection there of blood and data samples, to continue building the largest openly accessible, multi-disciplinary repository ever assembled for use in Multiple Sclerosis (MS) research.

"This is something that Accelerated Cure Project has been working on since we started the repository in 2006, says Carolyn Cronin, CEO of Accelerated Cure Project. "Having the ability to collect samples from a larger population through accessibility to our sites results in faster and more conclusive MS research. Our repository provides researchers with immediate access to a far greater number of samples than most scientists could collect themselves."

The opening of this collection site in Boston was made possible by the generosity of Paul and Joanne Egerman and the matching program created through the Water Cove Charitable Foundation. Through these donors, the BIDMC collection site will be funded through 2011. The first sample collection will take place Tuesday, March 10, 2009. Linda Kanner, Accelerated Cure Project Board of Directors, is excited to have the honor of being the first subject enrolled by her own neurologist, Dr. Rip Kinkel.

The repository provides a common population of samples useful for a wide variety of studies, that enables results from different research perspectives to be easily combined and correlated. The repository contains various types of samples and data that can support scientists working in many fields - genetics, nutrition, virology, and more. Researchers gaining access to the repository must return their results to the database to be shared with other researchers; this allows for cross-correlation of their results with all other studies performed using the same samples.

Subjects enrolled in the repository are followed over time to allow new samples to be taken and to record important changes in clinical status. Studying the same sample population over time, and pooling knowledge in a central database, is a major step toward understanding what causes MS, thereby accelerating a cure.

Additionally, samples and data are collected from a number of other similar diseases including Transverse Myelitis, Neuromyelitis Optica, Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis, and Optic Neuritis to enable studies of these rare neurological disorders and to provide controls for MS studies.

Other Collection Sites:

Contributing to the success of the project thus far is an impressive list of research centers across the country that have joined Accelerated Cure Project as collection sites for the repository. These include Johns Hopkins Medical Center (Baltimore, MD), University of Massachusetts Memorial Medical Center (Worcester, MA), University of Texas Southwestern (Dallas, TX), Multiple Sclerosis Research Center of New York (New York, NY), Barrow Neurological Institute (Phoenix, AZ), The Ohio State University Medical Center (Columbus, OH) and the Shepherd Center (Atlanta, GA).

The Accelerated Cure Project intends to continue collecting samples from as many as 10,000 subjects for its MS Repository. If you have MS (or another demyelinating disease) or are related to someone with MS and would like to participate in the project, please call 781/487-0008, visit www.acceleratedcure.org/repository, or send an email to info-web1207acceleratedcure.org.

About Accelerated Cure Project

Accelerated Cure Project is a national nonprofit organization whose mission is to accelerate the cure of multiple sclerosis (MS) by facilitating research that determines the causes and mechanisms of MS. Our primary strategic initiative is the establishment of the MS Repository, a large-scale collection of highly-characterized biosamples available to scientist at any organization who are conducting research that contributes to our mission. All data generated through analysis of MS Repository samples is contributed back to the Accelerated Cure Project, resulting in an increasingly valuable and comprehensive information resource that can be analyzed to reveal new insights about MS. For more information about the Accelerated Cure Project or to make a corporate or individual donation, call 781-487-0008, visit www.acceleratedcure.org, or send an email to info_no_spam_please_@i_mean_it.no_spam_whatsoever.acceleratedcure.org.

About Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple Sclerosis is a chronic demyelinating disorder of the central nervous system that often results in severe disability including the inability to walk, blindness, cognitive dysfunction, extreme fatigue and other serious symptoms. MS affects over 400,000 people in the US and 2 million individuals worldwide. The disorder occurs twice as often in women as in men. The cause is not known and there is no known cure.