Longitude Prize on ALS

Client: Challenge Works

1 in 300 people in the UK will develop motor neurone disease (MND) and 90% will have the most common form, ALS. Available treatments extend lives only by a few weeks; there is no cure.

With such limited treatments available, Seven worked with innovation prize experts, Challenge Works and the MND Association, to launch a £7.5m global challenge prize to incentivise innovators to use AI to identify the highest potential drug targets for the disease: the Longitude Prize for ALS.

Tris Dyson, Challenge Works’ MD, was diagnosed with MND aged 44 prompting the creation of the prize. His diagnosis brought a human impact narrative to the campaign, rightly positioning him as a crusader for change in the treatment of a disease where innovation has been lacking.

Seven led a high-profile campaign to support the global launch of the Longitude Prize for ALS, raising the profile of the Longitude Prize brand, Challenge Works and MND Association, while reaching potential entrants from biotech and AI innovation sectors.

Securing a BBC Breakfast exclusive for the launch, as well as coverage across the Sunday Times, Radio 4’s Today, the Express, Telegraph and multiple international trade titles, and a global newswire, the campaign had an online reach of 1.77 billion with 14.8 million estimated online views.

Integrated digital marketing efforts resulted in increased social following and website traffic, generating meaningful intent from target communities and, ultimately, 90 applications to the challenge prize.