CureDuchenne Ventures Invests in TRiNDS to Provide Clinical Trial Expertise

CureDuchenne Ventures is investing in Therapeutic Research in Neuromuscular Disorders Solutions (TRiNDS), a new specialized contract research organization.

TRiNDS is hived off from the Cooperative International Neuromuscular Research Group (CINRG), an academic consortium that studies causes, pathogenesis and clinical outcomes of neuromuscular disorders, and conducts well-controlled clinical studies to investigate promising therapeutic interventions that may improve quality of life or extend the lives of patients.

Funding from the investment arm of CureDuchenne, a national nonprofit dedicated to finding a cure for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), will enable TRiNDS, as a provider of specialized clinical trial support and post-marketing solutions for neuromuscular disorders, particularly DMD, to accelerate its clinical research of the disease.

Building on expertise drawn from its CINRG roots, TRiNDS offers four main pillars of solutions to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries and to academic investigators and clinical centers: Clinical operations, data management, biostatistics, and study measurements. TRiNDS team members, including its board of directors, are committed to long-term translational research and drug development in the neuromuscular community, and have been key contributors to the design and management of the CINRG Duchenne Natural History Study — the largest longitudinal controlled study of all-ages DMD patients. TRiNDS is unique in terms of its focus on muscular dystrophies and study outcome developments and on bridging gaps in neuromuscular research.

“We are proud to fill an emerging need in drug development for rare and orphan diseases like Duchenne,” Lauren Morgenroth, chief operating officer of TRiNDS, said in a press release. “We are honored to collaborate with CureDuchenne Ventures who continues to be an innovator in funding Duchenne research and provides a strong link to the Duchenne community,” she said.

“Working with CureDuchenne, an established leader in funding of orphan diseases, helps strengthen both organizations to accelerate drug treatments for these diseases. I am excited to continue working with individuals so dedicated to this cause,” said Heather Gordish-Dressman, president of TRiNDS board.

CureDuchenne Ventures LLC collaborates with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to help advance development of drugs for treating DMD. Nine CureDuchenne-funded research projects have advanced to the human clinical trials stage.

“TRiNDS is involved in all phases of the clinical trial process and they can help guide the development of the right endpoint and the right target across the entire disease spectrum,” said Jak Knowles, MD, managing director, CureDuchenne Ventures and member of the TRiNDS Board of Directors. “TRiNDS’ strong management team, statistical analysis and neuromuscular clinical trial expertise provide a centralized infrastructure supportive of orphan drug development. This is critical in helping to support clinical trials, which will hopefully lead to approved treatments for Duchenne.”