Progression of MS can be subtle and be initially missed by doctors and patients alike. It is not uncommon for MS to seem appropriately controlled on the surface but be deteriorating quietly in the background. Once this silent deterioration manifests as worsening of disability, it is typically too late to reverse the loss of function.
This project revolves around detecting, measuring and treating subtle MS progression, especially amongst people who are at the highest risk of silent deterioration of their disease. The project will first develop and validate a set of markers (clinical assessments, specialised investigations and biological markers) that will be sensitive enough to detect subtle changes in people with seemingly well-controlled MS. Second, it will develop a new method to monitor immune system activity within the brain. This method will be validated in laboratory models and then translated for use in humans. Third, the program will develop a promising treatment for progressive MS called PEGylated-GAS6. This molecule modifies the behaviour of the immune system within the brain.
The completed research will set the scene for translating this treatment into a research program offered to people living with MS – a first-in-human randomised clinical trial of PEGylated-GAS6.
Professors Tomas Kalincik and Trevor Kilpatrick have secured funding from multiple sources to support the first prospective cohort in Australia that will study clinically silent, presently undetected progression of MS (PRIMeS). The study protocol has been approved by sponsors and has received ethics approval from the Royal Melbourne Hospital (RMH) Human Research Ethics Committee.
Recruitment for the PRIMeS cohort commenced in March 2024, with 110 out of the total 330 participants being recruited to date. The first of the recruited participants have been completing their 1-year follow-up timepoint since March 2025. Additionally, they found their participation in the PRIMeS study to be a low burden and an interesting complementary angle to their standard clinical care.
The team continues advancing towards identifying a molecule that will allow them to image the brain to determine the characteristics of immune cells that promote repair rather than those that cause damage. This should advance the team’s ability to target the immune system in specific ways in different people to maximise the benefit of therapies on an individual basis.
Professors Kalincik and Kilpatrick continue to work towards developing a new treatment for progressive MS that has already shown benefit in laboratory models of MS. They have increased the treatment’s half-life and minimised batch-to-batch variability, enabling more practical and predictable effects in people.
The RMH Neuroimmunology Centre was launched in October 2023. It is the first neuroimmunology centre of its kind in Australia, with permanent allocation of space, staff, and resources by a tertiary public hospital. This enables integration of clinical activities, clinical research, educational activities and consumer engagement at a single location. The Centre’s launch has allowed recruitment into and follow-up of the PRIMeS cohort.
These advancements hold potential for individualised treatment approaches and improved outcomes for people with MS.
Professors Kalincik and Kilpatrick have submitted a patent application for this work.
Wong SW, Vivash L, Mudududdla R, Nguyen N, Hermans SJ, Shackleford DM, Field J, Xue L, Aprico A, Hancock NC, Haskali M, Stashko MA, Frye SV, Wang X, Binder MD, Ackermann U, Parker MW, Kilpatrick TJ, Baell JB. Development of [18F]MIPS15692, a radiotracer with in vitro proof-of-concept for the imaging of MER tyrosine kinase (MERTK) in neuroinflammatory disease. Eur J Med Chem. 2021 Dec 15;226:113822. doi: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2021.113822. Epub 2021 Sep 4. Top of FormÂ
Updated 31 March 2025
$750,000
2022
3 years
Current project
