Global collaboration launched to find treatments for progressive MS

The MS Society has joined MS charities from around the world to lead a new collaboration to speed up the development of treatments for people with progressive forms of MS.

The International Progressive MS Collaborative launches today, in celebration for World MS Day.

MS charities from the UK, USA, Canada, Italy, the Netherlands and the Multiple Sclerosis International Federation have identified priority areas for progressive MS research, including:

• identifying and developing potential treatments
• clinical trial design
• symptom management and rehabilitation

Researchers and medical experts from across the globe will come together later this year to discuss these areas and identify the research that is needed to get us closer to finding treatments specifically for progressive MS.

Dr Doug Brown, Head of Biomedical Research at the MS Society and member of the collaborative, said: “There are currently no treatments for people with progressive MS to slow the worsening of disability, and trials and studies to identify potential treatments have so far been disappointing. That’s why we’re delighted to be part of the International Progressive MS Collaborative - a proactive attempt by MS charities around the world to find an urgent answer to this problem.”

We hope that by working together, MS charities can identify opportunities for research more quickly and effectively.

There will be more information on the Collaborative available later this year, but for now check out our research blog.

For more information on World MS Day, and how to get involved, go to www.worldmsday.org.