This year marks the 20th anniversary of MS Australia’s national MS research program, a program that has helped supercharge Australian research and boosted collaboration across the sector.
And it’s timely to reflect on achievements and challenges, not least because the hard-working members of our Research Management Council will convene on Friday to assess applications for this year’s competitive research grant round.
Thanks to the great generosity of the MS community, the Australian public and our high performing Member Organisations – MS Plus, MSWA, MSQ and MSSA/NT -we are able to invest around $6m every year to fuel world-class Australian research.
But we do more than that. Our advocacy has, for example, unlocked $18m in MRFF EBV grant opportunities.
Our research platforms support the MSA Brain Bank, the Australian MS Longitudinal Survey and others covering areas such as genetics, Vitamin D studies and adaptive clinical trials.
And, working with MSWA and the UK MS Society’s OCTOPUS program, we are running a world-leading multi-arm, multi-stage clinical trial – PLATYPUS – in a bid to find effective treatments for progressive forms of MS.
Elusive treatments for progressive MS is also the focus for the International Progressive MS Alliance, of which MSA is a managing member and financial contributor.
Looking to the future, we are now working with MS Canada to develop another global research collaboration, seeking to find ways to drive ultra early detection and intervention to try and stop MS almost before it starts.
We know that research benefits when it is internationally linked and aligned. That’s why we work with key partners – such as the US, UK, Canadian and Italian MS societies – to name a few – through the exciting Pathways to Cures international research roadmap.
While much has been achieved over the past two decades, we face significant challenges. Yes, more, high efficacy disease modifying therapies are available than ever before. But prevalence of MS is on the rise. Research is increasingly costly. We don’t have effective treatments for progressive forms of MS. And we still can’t stop MS or reverse damage already done.
We are, therefore, absolutely determined to redouble our efforts, review our current approaches, and strengthen our work to achieve our ultimate goal, a world free from MS. This is our rock-solid commitment to each of the 33,335 people living with MS in Australia, their families, friends and carers.
