Our strategic plan 2012-2016 identifies progressive MS as one of the
three key priority areas for MSIF's international MS research going
forward (along with paediatric MS and stem cells). This important
research area has also been identified as a key focus for our global
fundraising strategy.
International Progressive MS Collaborative
Since July of 2011, MSIF and volunteer and staff leaders from the MS
Societies of Canada, Italy, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the
United States, have been engaged in discussions centred on the creation
of an international collaboration that would leverage financial and
intellectual resources to meet the unmet needs of people living with the
progressive forms of MS.
This group, whose mission is to expedite the development of effective
disease modifying and symptom management therapies for progressive
forms of MS, is now engaging the international MS research community to
develop strategies and priorities in the following areas for research
related to progressive forms of MS:
• Experimental models for improved preclinical evaluation of novel therapies,
• Targets/pathways identification and validation/repurposing of existing therapeutic agents,
• Proof-of-concept clinical trial strategies,
• Clinical outcome measures and trial designs,
• Symptom management therapies and rehabilitation strategies.
Community engagement
The collaborative has convened working groups, focused on each of the
priority research areas identified in its initial discussions. Working
groups will be chaired by a research leader and will draw on expertise
of additional experts from academia and industry.
These groups have been tasked with identifying gaps in the priority
areas and suggesting funding strategies and collaborative models to most
effectively address these needs.
The work groups shared their
findings and recommendations at a meeting on 1-2 November 2012 in
London. The Steering committee of the collaborative is now in the
process of integrating these recommendations into a systematic,
pragmatic and comprehensive work-plan moving forward in developing this
challenging and ambitious initiative.
In an effort to create momentum around the critical issue of progressive
MS, the collaborative also intends to host an International Scientific
Conference on Progressive MS, scheduled to take place in Italy on 6-8
February 2013.
Collaborative members
Multiple Sclerosis International Federation, Dutch MS Research
Foundation, Italian MS Foundation,
MS Society of Canada
, National
Multiple Sclerosis Society, USA
, UK MS Society
Steering committee
Peer Baneke, CEO, MS International Federation, UK
Doug Brown, PhD, Head of Biomedical Research, UK MS Society, UK
Dhia Chandraratna, PhD, Head of International Medical and Scientific Research, Multiple Sclerosis International Federation, UK
Timothy Coetzee, PhD, Chief Research Officer, NMSS, USA
Giancarlo Comi, MD, Director of the Department of Neurology, Scientific Institute San Raffaele, Italy
Anthony Feinstein, MD, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Neuropsychiatrist, Sunnybrook Hospital, Canada
Robert Fox, MD, Medical Director, Mellen Center for MS, Cleveland Clinic, USA
Raj Kapoor, MD, Consultant Neurologist, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, UK
Karen Lee, PhD, VP of Research, MS Society of Canada, Canada
Marco Salvetti, MD, Director, Center of Neurology and Experimental Therapies, La Sapienza University, Italy
Alan Thompson, MD, Dean, University College London Faculty of Brain
Sciences, and Chair, International
Medical and Scientific Board, MSIF,
UK
Paola Zaratin, PhD, Head of Scientific Research Department, Italian MS Society, Italy
Kim Zuidwijk, PhD, MS Research Foundation, Netherlands