October 9, 2018 News by Janet Stewart, MSc EMD Serono, ACP Work Jointly to Make MS Clinical Trials More Patient-focused The Accelerated Cure Project (ACP) for Multiple SclerosisĀ andĀ EMD Seronoā a unit of Merck KGaA ā Ā will jointly incorporate the perspectives of U.S. and CanadianĀ multiple sclerosis (MS) patients into the design and implementation of clinical trials. The ACP, a nonprofit group based in Waltham, Massachusetts, strives to accelerate…
August 23, 2017 News by Rachita Narsaria, MD Nortis Awarded $688K Grant from NIH to Develop ‘Living’ Model of Blood-Brain Barrier for Research Nortis, a Seattle-based biotech company, has received a $688,000 grant by the National Institutes of Health to create a living, 3-D model of the human blood-brain barrier that will be used for laboratory testing to accelerate drug development and lessen the likelihood of failure in clinical trials. This grant provides funding for a third year of a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) award given to Nortis by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), a branch of the NIH. SBIR provides grants to U.S.-based small businesses to do federal research and enable the commercialization of technology. The blood-brain barrier is a tissue barrier that only allows certain molecules to pass from blood vessels into the brain. It is a protective mechanism to prevent the entry of foreign bodies and infection-causing organisms in the brain. Researchers are trying to find ways of delivering medications across this barrier, to reach brain tissues to treat diseases that include multiple sclerosis. "Understanding how drugs are transported across the blood-brain barrier and interact with the brain presents a significant scientific challenge," Thomas Neumann, CEO of Nortis and principal investigator on the project, said in a press release. "More predictive preclinical models based on human tissue are urgently needed to reduce costs and minimize clinical trial failures," he added. "This grant will help us develop new in-vitro alternatives to traditional pharmaceutical drug development testing on laboratory animals."
November 29, 2016 News by Joana Fernandes, PhD NIH Grant to Support Research into Role of Copper in Demyelination The National Institutes of Health (NIH) awarded a $45,000 grant to a team of investigators, led by Tia Walker, PhD, atĀ Indiana University Northwest, to supportĀ aĀ research project into the role of copper in multiple sclerosis (MS). The award is a first for IU Northwest, and will allow the team to…
October 14, 2016 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Selective Manipulation of Specific Receptors May Pave Way for New MS Therapies Mouse experiments with compounds having opposite actions on two receptors for TNF (tumor necrosis factor) ā a key factor in neurodegeneration ā explains why earlier trials of TNF blockers in multiple sclerosis (MS) went wrong, and paves the wayĀ for more selective drugs targeting the system to stop MS neurodegeneration. The…
September 27, 2016 News by Patricia Silva, PhD How Tecfidera Works to Reduce MS Relapses Finally Discovered, May Lead to Better Treatments How the multiple sclerosis (MS) therapyĀ Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate) works on a molecular levelĀ hasĀ finally beenĀ uncovered,Ā using a new method that can map a drugās protein targets. The insights gainedĀ may open up new avenues for the development of more specific drugs, based on the same mechanisms, but with fewer side effects. The study,…
July 11, 2016 Columns by Laura Kolaczkowski Patient Engagement in Drug Development: DIA 2016 When I see a new drug for MS come to market, I only think of the company behind that product ā it could be one of the big names such as Genentech, Genzyme, EMD Serono, Biogen, or one of the many other players in the field.Ā I never stopped to…