Agreement seeks to coordinate resources on the highest potential research
MS Australia, together with Multiple Sclerosis organisations from the US, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, UK, and the MS International Federation, have jointly declared their collective commitment to a global research strategy to cure MS.
There are multiple pathways to identifying MS cures and this global coordination will effectively address knowledge gaps and avoid duplication to accelerate progress.
Through the Global Research Strategy Framework, the organisations will:
- Complete a landscape analysis of MS research funding and infrastructure
- Share national research plans and identify specific areas for collaboration and acceleration
- Align individual and collective resources on the Global Research Framework
- Create new joint initiatives to address strategic gaps
- Report on progress together.
Pathways to Cures divides the strategic research objectives for MS into three goals:
- Stop: MS in its tracks by ending disease activity and preventing further progression for those who already have MS.
- Restore: Restore what has been lost by repairing the nervous system and boosting rehabilitative approaches to restore function.
- End: End the disease forever by finding the cause of MS, understanding what triggers it, and protecting against it.
MS Australia Chief Executive Officer Rohan Greenland says the Pathways to Cures Statement is a crucially important step to ending MS.
“MS Australia is not only a partner, but a joint leader in this important global initiative. We are committed to working together with other MS organisations to fast-track the cures for MS,’’ Mr Greenland said.
“By working more closely, we will go further and faster down the pathways to cures,” Mr Greenland said.
MS Australia President, Associate Professor Des Graham attended the Pathways to Cures Global Summit in New York and says the importance of collaboration on the international stage cannot be underestimated.
“We are stronger together, and the agreement reached at the Summit will ensure that through greater global collaboration and coordination that we will achieve MS cures faster, an outcome the MS community, including researchers, funders, carers and people living with MS are united in achieving,” Associate Professor Graham said.
MS Organisations Endorsing this Statement:
- Associazione Italiana Sclerosi Multipla (Italian MS Society)
- Deutsche Multiple Sklerose Gesellschaft (Germany)
- Esclerosis Múltiple España (Spain)
- Fondation pour l’Aide à la Recherche sur la Sclérose En Plaques (France)
- MS Australia
- MS Canada
- MS International Federation (Global)
- MS Society UK
- National MS Society (US)
- Scleroseforeningen (Danish MS Society)
For further details regarding Summit outcomes see Pathways to Cures Global Summit Summary
