Frequently asked questions

The Longitude Prize on ALS is a £7.5m GBP [~$10m USD] international programme that seeks to incentivise the use of AI-based approaches to transform therapeutic discovery for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), the most common form of motor neurone disease (MND). 

The Longitude Prize for ALS is the third modern Longitude Prize, after the Longitude Prize on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) (awarded in June 2024) and the current Longitude Prize on Dementia. 

The Longitude Prize on ALS is designed and delivered by Challenge Works, a not-for-profit enterprise owned by Nesta, the UK's innovation agency for social good. 

Challenge Works is a global leader in the design and delivery of challenge prizes that mobilise diverse, innovative thinkers to solve pressing problems and unlock change. Since 2012, Challenge Works has designed and delivered over 100 challenge prizes spanning diverse sectors, with prize purses totalling over £327M for public, private and third-sector funders.

Challenge prizes incentivise the development of breakthrough technologies to solve some of the most intractable problems of our time. By levelling the playing field for innovators, through an open competition, seed funding and expert capacity building support, they enable diverse approaches to a problem to progress through the competition, with the best solution winning the top prize only after it has proven its effectiveness.

The Prize is principally funded by the MND Association, and designed and delivered by Challenge Works, supported by Nesta. It is also supported by a set of additional funders: Nesta, the Alan Davidson Foundation, My Name’5 Doddie Foundation, LifeArc, FightMND, Answer ALS, The Packard Center at Johns Hopkins University and The 10,000 Brains Project.

The Prize is working with a range of global data and technology partners, including Project MinE, ALS Compute, Answer ALS, New York Genome Centre, ALS Therapy Development Institute, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and DNANexus. 

ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease with an average life expectancy post-diagnosis of just two to four years. It is the most common form of motor neurone disease (MND), in which messages from the motor neurones gradually stop reaching the muscles. This leads the muscles to weaken, stiffen and waste, which can affect how individuals walk, talk, eat, drink and breathe. Some people also get changes to their thinking and behaviour, but the disease affects everyone differently. Not all symptoms will affect everyone, or in the same order. Symptoms also progress at varying speeds, which makes the course of the disease difficult to predict. There is no cure. 

Although often described as a rare disease, incidence is not uncommon – according to the MND Association, a person's lifetime risk of developing MND is up to 1 in 300. For most patients, treatment is currently limited to one approved drug, Riluzole, which extends life by a matter of months.   

In recent years, there have been significant advances in understanding the biology of ALS, including the discovery of new biomarkers and treatment pathways. Yet for the vast majority of those diagnosed, ALS remains an extremely life-limiting disease. Progress towards a treatment is slow – the push for new treatments must continue at pace.

Recent breakthroughs have shown promise, but the drug development process takes a long time (12-15 years), is expensive (on average costing 1-2 billion US dollars), and pharmaceutical companies are hesitant to invest as there are still very few high-potential validated therapeutic targets.  

ALS is a hugely complex disease, but it is this complexity that lends the disease to AI-based target and therapeutic discovery, which could be much more impactful than traditional research methods in identifying and validating possible therapeutic targets for complex diseases. 

AI has the potential to materially alter the economics of innovation for ALS, by finding and validating high-potential therapeutic targets at speed, reducing programme risk and attracting investment from industry.  In other diseases, AI has successfully been used to de-risk drug programmes and attract investment from industry, but use of AI within ALS is currently very limited. Investment in AI for pharmaceutical development in oncology (27%) is more than twice that of neurological conditions (11%), highlighting a significant disparity in focus across therapeutic areas. A major reason for this disparity is the relative difference in data availability between disease areas. 

As the global ALS research portfolio has grown, more and more datasets have been created with a plethora of different data types. Many of these datasets remain out of reach to commercial entities, particularly in Europe, but analysis of such data may hold the key to truly understanding the disease and identifying promising new treatments.

To maximise the potential for AI-driven target discovery in ALS, the Prize will offer participants access to a unique harmonised dataset on an easy-to-use platform offering a powerful opportunity to discover and validate new therapeutic targets in this particularly challenging disease. 

The Prize will award applicants from across medical research, biotechnology, computational biology and AI with bold ideas on how to harness the power of AI to identify and validate high-potential therapeutic targets for the discovery of transformative ALS therapeutics.

Eligible applicants interested in entering Stage 1 of the Prize must demonstrate their ability to leverage advanced computational techniques to identify high-potential therapeutic target candidates (or provide new evidence for known but unvalidated targets for ALS) and show a strong commitment to pursuing their validation. 

At Stage 1, successful applications will excel at fulfilling the Judging Criteria outlined in the Prize Handbook.

This initiative is focused on uncovering novel insights through the innovative application of AI-based methods and a combination of datasets. Proposals that continue ongoing work on previously identified targets, without delivering new discovery efforts using this approach, are not eligible.

If AI-driven identification work funded through this programme uncovers strong new evidence for a previously known therapeutic target, it may be eligible for applications into the next phase. We will consider such targets if they have not been previously validated and are not part of any known therapeutic development efforts. What’s important is whether your findings highlight the target as a promising and underexplored opportunity for therapy by clearly strengthening the case for its role in the biological mechanisms that drive ALS.

This initiative specifically requires the use of AI-driven approaches for therapeutic target identification. Other forms of AI expertise may still be valuable - particularly for downstream validation - but participation must involve methods that meet the AI-based identification requirement. Forming teams that include specialists in AI-driven target identification is encouraged, and upcoming networking and hackathon sessions are designed to support these collaborations.           

We anticipate that potential innovators will come from a range of sectors, including:

• The global ALS research community,

• The neurodegeneration research community, particularly those working in FTD, Dementia, Parkinson's etc,

• Academics specialising in AI/ML for health,

• All Biotech, Techbio and Pharma currently active in the ALS or neurodegenerative space,

• Biotech and Techbio, not presently active in ALS.

The eligibility criteria describes who can enter the Prize:

• The prize is open to organisations worldwide, including academic groups, companies or non-profits, as well as partnerships between these.

• Entries must be in English.

• Applicants must comply with the Prize Terms & Conditions.

Yes, the Longitude Prize on ALS is a global initiative, and we encourage applications from a wide range of geographies.

Yes, but the Prize will only award one application per organisation. 

Yes, a single organisation can apply on its own. However, the application must demonstrate that the team has both deep expertise in ALS and strong capabilities in AI-driven therapeutic discovery. If these skills do not exist within one institution, we recommend forming a partnership before applying.

While it’s reasonable to recruit additional staff during the project, you must already have the core team in place for the applicable stage at the time of application - including key personnel and institutional partners.

This means wet lab expertise will not be essential at Stage 1 and we encourage participants with computational backgrounds to form partnerships to support the validation phase.

Please consult the Prize Handbook for more information on how the Prize can support your team in forming partnerships ahead of applications and during the development phases.

Applicants must demonstrate deep expertise across disciplines, including advanced computational biology and a robust understanding of ALS pathophysiology, to enable effective target discovery. We therefore encourage you to search for partners in the following industries (as applicable) to complement your organisation’s skillset and strengthen your application:

• AI and Machine Learning Experts

• Computational Biologists and Bioinformaticians

• Neurodegenerative Disease Researchers and ALS Experts

• Biotechnology, techbio and Pharmaceutical Companies

• Multidisciplinary AI-Driven Biotech Start-ups

• Data Scientists and Engineers

• Clinical Experts and Medical Researchers

We strongly suggest you take some time to consult the Prize Handbook, the Terms and Conditions and this list of FAQs ahead of applying. It contains all essential information to prepare you for your application. 

The Longitude Prize on ALS will run for 5 years, launching in June 2025, and announcing one final winner in 2031. Please review the Prize Handbook for detailed information about the Prize timelines and stages involved. 

Applications for Stage 1 close on 3rd December 2025 at 15:00 GMT (Greenwich Mean Time). Late applications will not be accepted.

Your applications across the different stages of the Prize will be assessed by a Judging Panel and a pool of Technical Assessors following the Judging Criteria set out for each stage. For more details, please consult the Prize Handbook.

Participants in the Longitude Prize on ALS will have access to a rich and diverse collection of high-quality datasets, curated to support innovative research and discovery. These datasets are sourced from leading initiatives including Project MinE, ALS Compute, the New York Genome Center, Answer ALS, ALS TDI and Capture ALS, and will be offered through a Trusted Research Environment.

The available data includes:

1. Whole Genome Sequence (WGS) data
   Harmonised WGS data from over 9,000 ALS cases and 3,500 controls, providing a strong foundation for genomic exploration and target discovery.

2. Multi-Omics data
   Integrated epigenomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic datasets from more than 2000 cases, enabling multi-layered molecular analysis.

3. Clinical data
   Rich, well-annotated clinical metadata linked to genomic and omics data, allowing exploration of disease progression and heterogeneity.

4. Openly Available Datasets
   Participants will receive guidance and support to access additional valuable public datasets, expanding research possibilities.

Please visit our data page for the most updated information regarding the data offer.

You can also attend our Data Showcase Webinar (date TBC) to learn more about the Prize data.

All data provided through the Longitude Prize on ALS will be made available via a Trusted Research Environment (TRE), a secure, cloud-based platform that allows participants to analyse data without downloading or transferring it. Access will be granted either through standardised data sharing agreements facilitated by the Prize team or, for certain datasets, through formal access requests to the relevant data custodians. The Prize team will provide clear guidance, templates, and dedicated support throughout the process to help you gain timely and secure access to the data.

Successful teams selected for Stage 1 of the Prize will be granted access to the full dataset once the necessary data sharing agreements have been completed and approved.

However, during the application period, teams are encouraged to begin exploring openly available datasets such as Answer ALS and ALS Compute. These resources provide valuable clinical, genomic, and multi-omics data and can be accessed via cloud-based platforms to support early research and team formation. Step-by-step guides and templates are available on our website to help you get started.

In addition, the Prize team will offer opportunities to access select datasets within the secure cloud environment that will be used during the Prize, through workshops, hackathons, and other interactive events held during the application window. These events are designed to give applicants hands-on experience and early familiarity with the data tools that will be used during the Prize.

Yes, you are welcome to use your own data alongside the datasets provided through the Prize. There is no requirement to share your proprietary data, and you are not expected to contribute it to the common pool. However, if you choose to share de-identified data with other participants, this could support collaboration and strengthen the community’s overall progress. Thoughtful integration of external data will also be viewed positively during the assessment process.

No. To protect participant privacy and maintain compliance with data governance policies, datasets will only be accessible within a secure cloud-based Trusted Research Environment. All analyses must be conducted within this environment.

Most datasets will be accessible through a streamlined, standardised data sharing agreement. Some may require individual access requests (e.g., via dbGaP). The Prize team will provide guidance and support to simplify this process wherever possible.

Data sharing agreements and access instructions will be provided in advance of the development phase through the website. This will allow teams sufficient time to complete any required steps and begin analysis without delay. A support team will be available throughout the Prize to help with access, technical troubleshooting, and coordination with data providers if needed.

Please sign up for our Data Showcase Webinar (date TBC) to learn more about the Prize data and how to access what’s on offer.

Participants in the Longitude Prize on ALS will receive extensive support to help them make the most of the available data and technical resources. In collaboration with our data partners, the Prize will offer training, tutorials, and hands-on workshops covering key topics such as data navigation, multi-omics integration, and cloud-based analysis.

Teams will also have access to direct technical support for troubleshooting, platform use, and data interpretation. All harmonised datasets will be made available through a secure cloud platform, enabling efficient, compliant analysis in a collaborative environment. This comprehensive support structure is designed to empower teams to focus on innovation and accelerate progress in ALS research.

Every application must have one eligible lead organisation who will receive the totality of the Prize award, distributed in tranches, in line with the Terms and Conditions and the grant agreement signed with Nesta.

Nesta is not able to distribute the funding across multiple organisations, and the amount of Prize Awards distributed will remain the same regardless of the size of any partnerships.

Each Participant has, or shall timely obtain, all authorisations, consents and permissions necessary to submit the application, receive the Prize Award, carry out the proposal, and comply with the Terms and Conditions of the Prize.

We understand that the grant may not fully cover costs for all participants. We expect teams to contribute additional resources where possible or to use this opportunity to seek match funding from other institutions and/or companies.

The Prize believes in the importance of sharing research data, outcomes and findings to ensure sufficient public benefit in line with the objectives of the Prize. The Prize entrusts its participants with the financial support, data access, and other support provided through the Prize on the expectation that participants will apply these resources in a manner that maximises the ultimate benefits to the public and the scientific community. 

The Prize also acknowledges that eventual translation of results generated by prize winners to future interventions or products can be done successfully via commercialisation, which often requires protecting some intellectual property and results.

You will retain the ownership of any intellectual property in the work you generate during the Prize. 

Please consult the Prize Handbook and T&Cs for more guidance around IP and dissemination of knowledge.