MSIF member organisations work together to accelerate progress towards cures for MS

In 2022, the Pathways to Cures Roadmap was published. The Roadmap – the development of which was led by our member organisation in the US, the National MS Society – set out three pathways that could provide opportunities for progress towards MS cures: (1) stopping the MS disease process, (2) restoring lost function by reversing damage and symptoms, and (3) ending MS through prevention. This landmark report described knowledge gaps, milestones, and research priorities, and was widely supported by MS organisations across the world.

In May 2023, the National MS Society organised the global Pathways to Cures Global Summit, which brought together 200 global leaders from MSIF member organisations, researchers, doctors, government funders, pharmaceutical companies, supporters and people living with MS. The aim of this Summit was to review the Pathways to Cures priorities and updating them according to the latest scientific understanding. The Summit was co-Chaired by Professor Banwell, Chair of MSIF’s International Medical and Scientific Board, and was attended by people from 15 countries.

A revised Pathways to Cures Roadmap, based on discussion at the Global Summit, and authored by the Summit organising committee, has recently been published. As well as refining the priorities within the three pathways, participants also came up with recommendations for accelerating research progress that included:

• lowering barriers for global data sharing,
• enhancing collaboration and coordination among research supporters,
• committing to sustained funding,
• considering implications for implementation,
• engaging PwMS and
• committing to diversity, equity, and inclusion in the global MS movement.

During the Pathways to Cures Summit, MSIF member organisations from Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States, jointly declared their collective commitment to a global research strategy for cures for MS. You can read more about this commitment here: MS organisations commit to a shared global research strategy to accelerate cures for MS.

One of the first activities of this group was to complete a landscape analysis of MS research funding and infrastructure, which has also recently been published. MSIF members were surveyed to ask whether they funded MS research, and if so, what type of research they funded and how much. Together with an analysis of government databases, this allowed us to estimate that over 1.5 billion Euros is spent globally on MS research.

All the research projects funded were classified according to the Pathways to Cures categories of Stop, Restore and End. Around 60% of projects were in the ‘Stop’ category. This landscape analysis highlights the current distribution of MS research investment between topics and begins to suggest where the MS community should focus to increase potential impact for current and future endeavours.

Anne Helme, PhD, Head of Research and Access at MSIF says:

“These publications highlight what can be achieved when MS organisations come together to solve global problems. By bringing together people affected by MS, researchers, healthcare professionals, government and the private sector from all countries, we can accelerate progress in research, tackling the challenges faced by people affected by MS across the world.”

The MS organisations who authored the paper ended with a call to action for all funders of MS research to enable coordination and collaboration to:

1. Develop and share plans for future research investment with each other and the wider global community;
2. Create joint initiatives to address areas of urgent need for people living with MS;
3. Share the impact of their investment to enable reporting on global progress toward cures; and ultimately
4. Inform the ongoing refinement of the global strategy for MS research.

Alvaro Cobo-Calvo, PhD, neurologist at the Multiple Sclerosis Center of Catalonia (CEMCAT), and Mar Tintoré, PhD, president of ECTRIMS, authored an editorial highlighting the importance of these papers. They write:

“The two studies highlight the importance of improving coordination in international research for a more efficient distribution of funding to achieve their main objectives. The International Progressive MS Alliance and the global PROMs Initiative are prime examples of global collaboration in combating MS progression and enhancing the use of patient-reported outcome measures. Recently, the World Health Organization (WHO) added disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) for MS to its Essential Medicines List. This significant achievement would not have been possible without a shared agenda and the collaboration of various partners, led by the Multiple Sclerosis International Federation (MSIF).”

Together, these two new publications explain how increased global collaboration will accelerate progress toward cures. They suggest where the MS community should focus to increase potential impact of current and future research, in order to benefit people affected by MS across the world.

Both papers and the editorial piece can be found in the September issue of Multiple Sclerosis Journal, and will soon be available to access without payment.