The Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative unveiled a new program aimed toward supporting work and research done by patient communities fighting rare diseases.
Through the Rare as One Project, CZI will award up to $4.5 million in grants for patient-led, nonprofit organizations to launch research networks specific to their disease area. Up to 10 organizations will receive the two-year grants, which will support the organizations' funding, training, community mentorship and capacity-building services.
"A small but growing number of rare disease patient organizations are making progress in their disease areas with remarkable success," said Tania Simoncelli, CZI science policy director and Rare as One project lead, according to a news release. "These efforts have resulted in the development of new disease models, diagnostic criteria, drug targets, clinical trials and — in some cases — new approved therapies in remarkably short timeframes."
Facebook Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan, MD, a pediatrician, launched CZI in 2015 with the mission to cure, prevent or manage all diseases by the end of the century.