New adaptive clinical trial offers new hope for progressive multiple sclerosis
The first-ever adaptive clinical trial for Australians living with MS will seek to reverse neurological damage caused by progressive multiple sclerosis.
With an initial $4 million in funding, the trial, commencing in January 2024, will enable researchers to investigate the potential benefits of several medications simultaneously, giving hope to the cohort of people living with one of the most debilitating forms of MS and who currently have extremely limited treatment options.
Working with a national and international group of clinicians and researchers, the multi-arm, multi-stage (MAMS) adaptive, innovative design, known as PLATYPUS (PLatform Adaptive Trial for remYelination and neuroProtection in mUltiple Sclerosis*), will test two repurposed drugs alongside each other, providing more timely results about whether the treatments are working.
MSWA is the leading funder of the trial having contributed $3 million to PLATYPUS. MSWA CEO Melanie Kiely said MSWA is proud to fund the ambitious research project which will transform the way we test treatments for progressive MS.
“PLATYPUS has the potential to deliver a significant breakthrough, as we aim to provide real-life outcomes which positively impact the lives of people living with progressive MS – which is always our focus.”
“By testing two repurposed drugs, we hope to find a treatment which can be quick to market for the people we support,” Ms Kiely said.
MS Australia CEO, Mr Rohan Greenland, said currently, despite a number of traditional clinical trials for progressive MS in Australia, there is no treatment that repairs damage in progressive MS.
PLATYPUS is an extension of the OCTOPUS (Optimal Clinical Trials Platform for Multiple Sclerosis) clinical trial, funded by the UK MS Society and launched April 2023.
Neurology Professor Simon Broadley from Griffith University’s School of Medicine and Dentistry and Chief Investigator of PLATYPUS, says the funding was critical and the new trials will allow the testing of multiple potential therapies simultaneously and bring results much faster than traditional clinical trial methods.
“Collaborating with our OCTOPUS partners in the UK, we’ll be trialling the drugs metformin, which is typically used to treat type 2 diabetes, and alpha-lipoic acid which is a health food supplement, these therapies have shown promise in promoting neuroprotection and/or myelin repair in MS,” Professor Broadley said.
https://www.msaustralia.org.au/news/...erosis/
The first-ever adaptive clinical trial for Australians living with MS will seek to reverse neurological damage caused by progressive multiple sclerosis.
With an initial $4 million in funding, the trial, commencing in January 2024, will enable researchers to investigate the potential benefits of several medications simultaneously, giving hope to the cohort of people living with one of the most debilitating forms of MS and who currently have extremely limited treatment options.
Working with a national and international group of clinicians and researchers, the multi-arm, multi-stage (MAMS) adaptive, innovative design, known as PLATYPUS (PLatform Adaptive Trial for remYelination and neuroProtection in mUltiple Sclerosis*), will test two repurposed drugs alongside each other, providing more timely results about whether the treatments are working.
MSWA is the leading funder of the trial having contributed $3 million to PLATYPUS. MSWA CEO Melanie Kiely said MSWA is proud to fund the ambitious research project which will transform the way we test treatments for progressive MS.
“PLATYPUS has the potential to deliver a significant breakthrough, as we aim to provide real-life outcomes which positively impact the lives of people living with progressive MS – which is always our focus.”
“By testing two repurposed drugs, we hope to find a treatment which can be quick to market for the people we support,” Ms Kiely said.
MS Australia CEO, Mr Rohan Greenland, said currently, despite a number of traditional clinical trials for progressive MS in Australia, there is no treatment that repairs damage in progressive MS.
PLATYPUS is an extension of the OCTOPUS (Optimal Clinical Trials Platform for Multiple Sclerosis) clinical trial, funded by the UK MS Society and launched April 2023.
Neurology Professor Simon Broadley from Griffith University’s School of Medicine and Dentistry and Chief Investigator of PLATYPUS, says the funding was critical and the new trials will allow the testing of multiple potential therapies simultaneously and bring results much faster than traditional clinical trial methods.
“Collaborating with our OCTOPUS partners in the UK, we’ll be trialling the drugs metformin, which is typically used to treat type 2 diabetes, and alpha-lipoic acid which is a health food supplement, these therapies have shown promise in promoting neuroprotection and/or myelin repair in MS,” Professor Broadley said.
https://www.msaustralia.org.au/news/...erosis/