An international research team, including a scientist from the University of Aberdeen has received around half a million pounds, £589,972 ($800,000), in new funding to advance a promising therapy for multiple sclerosis (MS).
Led by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) and supported by Brain Canada, the National MS Society’s Fast Forward program, and Health Canada through the Canada Brain Research Fund, the project aims to develop an approach to treatment that could halt MS progression and even repair some nerve damage which could restore previously lost functions.
Around 2.8 million people worldwide live with MS, and with around 18,000 of them living in Scotland, it has one of the highest rates of the disease in the world.
In MS the immune system attacks the protective myelin sheath around nerve fibres, disrupting communication between the brain and body. Symptoms such as fatigue, vision problems, and mobility challenges arise when myelin is lost. While current treatments can slow disease activity, none can fix existing damage.
This new therapy offers a different promise. It targets a destructive process known as excitotoxicity, which harms nerve cells in MS. By blocking this process, and without interfering with normal brain function, the treatment encourages the body to rebuild myelin and improve nerve recovery. In animal models of MS, the compound has already shown it can restore motor skills and repair myelin, even when applied after symptoms appeared.
Led by principal investigator Dr. Fang Liu, Senior Scientist at CAMH and professor in department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, in collaboration with Dr. Iain Greig, Reader in Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Aberdeen, the research is now entering the final stages of preclinical testing to prepare for future human clinical trials. CAMH and the University of Aberdeen have patent protected this research and are actively seeking industry partners to further advance this work towards clinical trials.
Dr. Iain Greig
Dr. Fang Liu said: “Canada has one of the highest rates of MS in the world, with an estimated 90,000 people living with the disease. Our compound could transform MS treatment, not just slowing the disease, but helping people regain what they’ve lost. I’m grateful for this new funding to take us one step closer to clinical trials for this potentially life-altering treatment.”
Dr Iain Greig, who has been part of the drug discovery programme since its inception in 2014, added: “This generous funding will allow us to continue to make progress in bringing this groundbreaking research closer to reality and I’m deeply grateful for the support.
“The potential of this therapy is enormous, not only could it stop MS progression, but it could actually help repair damaged nerves and restore some functions already lost for people living with MS, something never achieved previously.
“Being able to take this work forward offers us a unique way to address the root causes of the nerve damage we see in MS patients, and I’m excited by what this could mean for MS patients and others with neurodegenerative diseases. I’m thankful to CAMH, our partners, and the funding agencies for making this possible, and for their belief in the power of this research.”
Dr. Aristotle Voineskos, CAMH Senior Vice President, Research and Science added: “CAMH is proud to be leading this groundbreaking work alongside our partners and contributors. As a global leader in mental health and neuroscience research, we are deeply committed to advancing care through innovation. By supporting the commercialization of discoveries like this, we can accelerate the translation of research into real-world treatments and deliver new hope to people living with multiple sclerosis and other neurodegenerative diseases.”
Dr. Viviane Poupon, Brain Canada President and CEO added: “Brain Canada is proud to support bold, high-impact research that has the potential to change lives.”
Dr. Walter Kostich, Associate Vice President, Translational Research, National MS Society concluded: “We are pleased to see research advance on a pathway toward stopping MS progression in its tracks and restoring function to people with progressive MS.”
This project has been made possible by the Canada Brain Research Fund (CBRF), an innovative arrangement between the Government of Canada (through Health Canada) and Brain Canada, and Fast Forward. Past funding has also been provided by a CAMH Discovery Fund Accelerator grant, a CIHR POP II grant, an operating grant from the MS Society of Canada and funding from the National MS Society’s (USA) Fast Forward commercial research program.