Alzheimer's Therapeutic Research Institute (ATRI)

What Alzheimer's Therapeutic Research Institute (ATRI) does

ATRI is a non-profit academic clinical trial coordinating institute within the University of Southern California's Keck School of Medicine, focused on designing and executing large-scale multicenter trials for Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. Founded in 2015 by Dr. Paul Aisen after spinning out of the Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study, the institute operates as the nexus of the Alzheimer's Clinical Trials Consortium (ACTC) alongside Harvard and Mayo Clinic, coordinating 76+ clinical trials across 200+ study sites in the U.S., Canada, and the EU, with over 2,490 participants enrolled and 14,900 screened to date.

Its core technology stack comprises clinical trial operations infrastructure (eCRFs, clinical monitoring systems, biostatistics, and bioinformatics), a national biorepository holding up to 11.57 million biospecimens across 248 minus-80°C freezers, a Neuropathology Core and Brain Bank with nearly 2,000 brains, and the Neuroscience Translational Research Division (NTRD) with shared scientific cores covering biomarker assays, animal models (5,000+ transgenic mice), imaging, histopathology, and viral vectors. The alzverse R package suite packages curated AD study data into analysis-ready tools. Recruitment is supported by the RER Section, which runs community outreach, multilingual (English/Spanish) participant materials, and direct-to-consumer study portals such as APT Webstudy.

The revenue model is grant-driven: the primary funding base is federal research grants from the NIH and NIA, supplemented by major philanthropic gifts (notably a $50 million joint gift from the Epstein Family Foundation to USC and UC San Diego in 2022, followed by the December 2025 institute renaming) and industry collaborations such as Eli Lilly's A4 Study. Trial participation is free to volunteers, so the institute has no fee-for-service revenue from participants; value is captured upstream through grants, donations, and industry-sponsored trial agreements.

Name

Alzheimer's Therapeutic Research Institute (ATRI)

Legal name

USC Epstein Family Alzheimer's Therapeutic Research Institute

Website

https://atri.usc.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Non-profit clinical trial coordinating institute within USC's Keck School of Medicine that designs and runs large-scale multicenter Alzheimer's trials across 200+ sites, anchored by the ACTC consortium and a national biorepository with millions of biospecimens.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Clinical Research Services

NAICS

Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), In Vitro & In Vivo Diagnostic Substances (2835), Services-Nursing & Personal Care Facilities (8050)

akta.pro primary industry

Academic Medical Centers & Teaching Hospitals (University-Affiliated) (EDAHAGAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Dementia Care Coordination & Care Planning (HSABAEAJ), Alzheimer’s Specialized Care (Mid/Late-Stage) (HSABAEAC)

Keywords

• Clinical trial coordination
• Alzheimer's disease research
• Biomarker laboratory services
• Translational neuroscience research
• Biorepository storage services

Headquarters

HQ city

San Diego

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Federal Research Grants: ATRI receives substantial funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and National Institute on Aging (NIA) to conduct clinical trials and research in Alzheimer's disease and related disorders.
2. Philanthropic Donations: The institute receives major gifts from the Epstein Family Foundation ($50 million joint gift to USC and UC San Diego in 2022) and other donors to support Alzheimer's research and operations.
3. Industry Collaborations: Public-private partnerships with pharmaceutical companies including Eli Lilly (for A4 Study solanezumab), and other industry partners for clinical trial support.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

ATRI is a non-profit academic coordinating center that designs and executes large-scale multicenter Alzheimer's disease and related dementia clinical trials across 200+ study sites globally. The institute provides end-to-end clinical trial infrastructure including participant recruitment, engagement and retention services, biomarker laboratory and biorepository operations, biostatistics, clinical monitoring, informatics, and regulatory support. It operates the Alzheimer's Clinical Trials Consortium (ACTC) jointly with Harvard and Mayo Clinic and contributed to FDA approvals of Lecanemab and Donanemab.

Product overview

The USC Epstein Family Alzheimer's Therapeutic Research Institute (ATRI) is a coordinating center and academic research institute within USC Keck School of Medicine that conducts large-scale multicenter clinical trials for Alzheimer's disease prevention and treatment. Rather than a single product, ATRI offers a portfolio of interconnected services: core clinical trial coordination infrastructure supporting 200+ global sites; the Neuroscience Translational Research Division (NTRD) with Scientific Cores (Neuropathology, Biomarker Lab & Biorepository, Animal Models, Imaging, Histopathology, Viral Vector); recruitment and retention services via the RER Section; and educational programs including IMPACT-AD training, Student Summer Research Program, and Alzheimer's Research Day San Diego symposium. ATRI also develops research tools like the alzverse R packages for AD data analysis. Community engagement is supported through Friends of ATRI, and foundational education through Alzheimer's 101 resources.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Clinical Trial Coordination Services End-to-end coordinating center services for large-scale multicenter clinical trials in Alzheimer's disease and related dementias, including trial design, execution, data management, biostatistics, clinical monitoring, and regulatory oversight across 200+ study sites in the U.S., Canada, and Europe. Used by federal sponsors (NIH/NIA), pharmaceutical collaborators, and academic partners.
• Neuroscience Translational Research Division (NTRD) Division providing consolidated infrastructure for basic and translational neuroscience research of neurodegenerative diseases, including shared laboratories (Rissman Lab, Winston Lab), Scientific Cores (Neuropathology, Biomarker, Animal Models, Imaging, Histopathology, Viral Vector), and the ATRI Biomarker Laboratory and Biorepository. Used by ATRI faculty, academic collaborators, and industry partners.
• Biomarker Laboratory and Biorepository Services National library for federally funded Alzheimer's trials providing long-term storage and sharing of biospecimens (CSF, whole blood, plasma/serum, DNA, buffy coats, urine) and associated clinical, genetic, and protein bioassay data; performs protein biomarker, genetic, and pharmacokinetic experiments. Capacity: 248 minus 80°C freezers holding up to 11.57 million samples. Used by federally funded AD trials and research collaborators.
• alzverse R Package Suite Suite of R data packages including A4LEARN and ADNIMERGE2 that bundle curated datasets, documentation, and reproducible analysis vignettes from major Alzheimer's studies into portable, analysis-ready formats to accelerate AD research. Targeted at academic and industry Alzheimer's researchers performing secondary analyses on legacy trial data.
• Recruitment, Engagement and Retention (RER) Section Services Section offering evidence-based participant recruitment, engagement, and retention services for AD/ADRD clinical trials, including site engagement, community outreach, and bilingual (English/Spanish) educational materials with cultural accuracy review. Used by ATRI-coordinated trials and partner studies seeking to improve enrollment diversity and retention.
• IMPACT-AD Training Program Institute on Methods and Protocols for Advancement of Clinical Trials in Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias — an ADRD training program co-directed by ATRI that educates and promotes diversity among research professionals and future principal investigators, featuring lectures from national leaders and small group workshops. Targeted at early-career ADRD investigators.
• Student Summer Research Program Eight-week, full-time, in-person summer research training program for undergraduate, graduate, and medical school students. Participants work with ATRI's multidisciplinary team on Alzheimer's clinical trials research across tracks including Biostatistics, Clinical Operations, Data Management, Informatics, and Wet-Lab research. Targeted at students pursuing careers in Alzheimer's and clinical research.
• Scientific Cores Infrastructure Centralized shared research facilities including Neuropathology and Brain Bank (nearly 2,000 brains), Biomarker Core, Animal Models Core (5,000+ transgenic mice), Imaging & Microscopy (confocal, fluorescent, live imaging), Histopathology, and Viral Vector core services. Used by ATRI labs and external academic collaborators.

Quantifiable outcome

• Contributed to FDA approval of Lecanemab (Leqembi) - first treatment shown to slow cognitive decline
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network (DIAN): Washington University-led international network running AD prevention trials in genetically predisposed populations; comparable in running large-scale, multicenter, pharma-sponsored AD trials with biorepository infrastructure.
• Mayo Clinic Alzheimer's Disease Research Center: One of three ACTC consortium partners alongside ATRI, conducting NIH-funded AD clinical research with biorepository infrastructure and biomarker development; competes for similar federal grants and industry-sponsored trials.
• Banner Alzheimer's Institute: Phoenix-based nonprofit clinical research center running major AD prevention trials (e.g., the API ADAD Colombia trial) with deep pharma partnerships and biorepository capabilities — directly comparable to ATRI in mission, operating model, and trial scale.
• Critical Path Institute (C-Path): Independent nonprofit that orchestrates FDA-aligned data consortia and clinical trial endpoints across multiple disease areas, including Alzheimer's; comparable as a coordinating-center model that convenes industry, academia, and regulators around shared research infrastructure.
• Harvard Aging Brain Study (HABS): Massachusetts General Hospital / Harvard-based longitudinal AD biomarker and cognitive aging study; the third ACTC consortium partner, conducting clinical research in preclinical and prodromal AD with comparable scientific leadership.
• Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study (ADCS): The original AD clinical trials coordinating group led by Dr. Aisen before he founded ATRI; ADCS continues to operate at UC San Diego under NIH funding, running parallel multicenter AD trials with overlapping investigator networks and competing for the same federal grants.

Emerging players

• Goizueta Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (Emory): NIA-funded AD Research Center conducting biomarker and clinical trial research with a strong focus on vascular contributions to dementia; partial overlap with ATRI's research portfolio and competes for overlapping federal grants.
• Global Alzheimer's Association Interactive Network (GAAIN): Federated data-sharing network built on ATRI-adjacent datasets for Alzheimer's research; comparable in being an academic-led data infrastructure effort, though more narrowly focused on data interoperability than full trial coordination.
• C2N Diagnostics: Commercial diagnostics company that commercialized PrecivityAD, the blood biomarker ATRI helped validate; comparable at the biomarker-research-to-product interface, though for-profit and operating in a narrower commercial slice of ATRI's mission.

Broad incumbents

• Biogen: Large biotech that brought Aduhelm to FDA approval and runs AD clinical programs; comparable as a partner-sponsor of ATRI's clinical trials and operates a competing in-house AD R&D pipeline that uses trial infrastructure similar to ATRI's.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@ATRI_USC
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/alzheimer-s-therapeutic-research-institute

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Alzheimer's Therapeutic Research Institute (ATRI)