Biogen Idec Inc. said Thursday that it has formed a consortium with several academic research centers that looks to identify new approaches to treating amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, which is also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

In a press release, Weston-based Biogen Idec said that it has committed more than $10 million over three years to fund research projects by members of the consortium. The initiative will complement a collaboration the company announced earlier this year with Duke University and the Hudson Alpha Institute to sequence the genomes of 1,000 people living with ALS.