An international prize bringing together researchers, data and technology to accelerate breakthroughs in treatment for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
Longitude Prize on ALS
The fight against motor neurone disease (MND) needs bold ideas. And it needs them now.
The Longitude Prize on ALS is an international challenge prize to incentivise the use of AI-based approaches to transform drug discovery for the treatment of ALS, the most common form of MND.
The prize is designed and delivered by Challenge Works by Nesta and principally funded by the MND Association together with FightMND and other international funders.
At its heart, the Prize is about working across countries, disciplines and technologies to accelerate progress for people living with MND.
Why this matters
Motor neurone disease is complex. There is no cure. And treatment options are limited.
New technologies are changing what is possible. Large amounts of data can now be analysed quickly using AI. It can find patterns people cannot see. When combined with shared knowledge and global collaboration, this technology has the power to unlock new discoveries, and new hope.
Global teams selected for Stage 1 of Longitude Prize on ALS
Twenty international research teams have been selected for Stage 1 of the Longitude Prize on ALS, sharing £2 million (approximately AUD$4 million) to accelerate the search for new treatments for motor neurone disease (MND).
Using artificial intelligence and access to one of the world’s largest ALS datasets, the teams will work to identify promising new drug targets and drive faster progress in understanding the disease. The successful collaborations span more than 70 organisations across 12 countries.
Australian representation is a strong feature of the program, with involvement from the University of Sydney, GenieUs Genomics and the University of Melbourne, contributing alongside leading institutions including King’s College London, MIT, Harvard Medical School, the Paris Brain Institute and others.
Learn more about the teams and their innovative projects at als.longitudeprize.org
Prize timeline and stages
The Longitude Prize on ALS is a five-year global challenge. It is comprised of three key stages.
Stage 1: Discover
April – December 2026
Twenty interdisciplinary teams will use AI to analyse datasets provided by the Prize. Information will be used to:
- identify novel therapeutic targets for treating ALS, or
- provide new evidence that validates previously identified but unverified targets for treating ALS.
Stage 2: Prioritise
May 2027 – April 2028
Ten teams will be shortlisted to research the targets identified in stage 1. They will use computer analysis and lab testing to confirm and strengthen their evidence.
Stage 3: Validate
September 2028 – August 2030
Five shortlisted teams will complete in-depth laboratory research on the most promising therapeutic targets. This stage will generate high-confidence data to support their progression toward clinical application.
Prize Winner
The prize will award one winning team demonstrating exceptional progress in validating therapeutic target(s) with the highest potential impact on ALS treatment.
Learn more
More information about the Prize is available on the Longitude Prize on ALS website.