The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced $12.7 million in awards to match nine academic research groups with a selection of pharmaceutical industry compounds to explore new treatments for patients in eight disease areas, including Alzheimer's disease, Duchenne muscular dystrophy and schizophrenia.

This collaborative pilot initiative, called Discovering New Therapeutic Uses for Existing Molecules, is led by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences and funded by the NIH Common Fund. Scientific expertise will be provided by seven other NIH Institutes and Centers, including the National Cancer Institute; National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; National Institute on Aging; National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism; National Institute on Drug Abuse; National Institute of Mental Health; and National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Read on