Welcome to the TED Initiative

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is a complex, and often chronic condition, not a one-time event. Each year more than 2.5 million people in the United States seek medical care for TBIs. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention an estimated 2% of the U.S. population now lives with TBI-caused disabilities, at an annual cost of about $77 billion. The U.S. Department of Defense estimates that 361,092 brain injuries have been sustained by members of the U.S. military, worldwide, since 2000. As of 2015, no drug or device has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat acute TBI, and decades of well-designed clinical trials have failed. In large part, this disappointing progress stems from our inability to precisely diagnose this multi-factorial condition and thus, accurately stratify patients into trials that test drugs and devices relevant to their phenotypic injury.

Better designed clinical trials leading to the first successful treatments for traumatic brain injury are the goals of TBI Endpoints Development (TED) Initiative. Awarded in 2014, the TED Initiative is supported by a $17 million, five-year grant from the Department of Defense (DoD). Funded as a direct collaboration with FDA, the TED team consists of leading academic clinician-scientists, along with innovative industry leaders in biotechnology and imaging technology, patient advocacy organizations, and philanthropies. This unique public-private partnership will examine data from thousands of athletes, soldiers, and the broader civilian population to identify and validate effective measures or “endpoints” of brain injury and recovery.

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