Overview

We believe significant strides to treat brain disorder developments will not be made unless those leading the scientific research work together. As such, we have strategically partnered with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, universities, government agencies, foundations and advocacy groups to assemble the assets and resources necessary for success.

Autism Speaks
The goal of Autism Speaks is to change the future for all who struggle with autism spectrum disorders. They are dedicated to funding global biomedical research into the causes, prevention, treatments, and cure for autism; to raising public awareness about autism and its effects on individuals, families, and society; and to bringing hope to all who deal with the hardships of this disorder. They are committed to raising the funds necessary to support these goals. Autism Speaks aims to bring the autism community together as one strong voice to urge the government and private sector to listen to our concerns and take action to address this urgent global health crisis. It is their firm belief that, working together, we will find the missing pieces of the puzzle. Autism Speaks. It's time to listen. For more information, please visit www.autismspeaks.org.

Correlagen Diagnostics, Inc.
Correlagen Diagnostics, Inc. is a molecular diagnostics company located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Correlagen's mission is to promote the broad use of gene testing in clinical practice thereby improving the diagnosis and treatment of disease. Rapid advances in human genomics and genetics have greatly increased the potential of gene sequence analysis for diagnostic use. Correlagen offers a full line of products and services that range from test development to clinical interpretation of gene sequencing results. For more information, please visit www.correlagen.com.

FRAXA Research Foundation
FRAXA Research Foundation was founded in 1994 to support scientific research aimed at finding a treatment and a cure for Fragile X. Fragile X research is underfunded, considering its high prevalence, prospects for a cure and the promise that Fragile X research holds for advancing our understanding of other disorders like autism, Alzheimer's disease and X-linked intellectual disabilities. FRAXA funds grants and fellowships at universities all over the world. For more information, please visit www.fraxa.org.

Merck & Co., Inc.
Merck & Co., Inc. is a global research-driven pharmaceutical company dedicated to putting patients first. Established in 1891, Merck discovers, develops, manufactures and markets vaccines and medicines in more than 20 therapeutic categories. The Company devotes extensive efforts to increase access to medicines through far-reaching programs that not only donate Merck medicines but help deliver them to the people who need them. Merck also publishes unbiased health information as a not-for-profit service. For more information, please visit www.merck.com.

Vanderbilt University Medical Center
The primary mission of the Vanderbilt Program in Drug Discovery is to facilitate the application of chemical and other technologies to answer fundamental questions in the biological sciences that may ultimately lead to the development of novel therapeutic strategies. Vanderbilt scientists led by Dr. Jeffrey Conn, Director of the Vanderbilt Program in Drug Discovery, have pioneered the discovery of “allosteric” compounds that modulate (“turn up” or “turn down”) the activation of certain receptors, called metabotropic glutamate receptors, when the neurotransmitter glutamate binds to them. Using Vanderbilt’s high-throughput screening facility, which is capable of testing tens of thousands of small molecules for drug-like activity in a single day, Dr. Conn and his colleagues have identified more than 400 compounds with mGluR5 inhibitory effects. In February of 2008, Seaside Therapeutics announced the award of a $4.5 million collaborative research contract to Vanderbilt University Medical Center to discover novel compounds to potentially suppress the manifestations of Fragile X Syndrome. For more information, please visit the Vanderbilt Program in Drug Discovery.