Darmstadt, Germany/Copenhagen, Oct. 5, 2013 – Merck Serono, the biopharmaceutical division of Merck, announced today on the occasion of the 29th European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS), the recipients of the company’s inaugural Grant for Multiple Sclerosis Innovation (GMSI).
Four recipients, three from the United States and one from Germany, will share the overall €1 million grant to support their research:
- Dr Daniel Harrison, Assistant Professor of Neurology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, received a grant for research seeking to translate novel magnetic resonance imaging and analysis techniques into tools that have clinical applications in MS. He is focused on the validation of tools that will provide more pathologically specific assessments in future clinical trials.
- Dr Thomas Thum, Professor and Director of the Institute of Molecular and Translational Therapeutic Strategies at Hannover Medical School (Germany), previously evaluated whether microRNAs are differentially regulated in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients with MS. The awarded grant will allow him and a network of German centers to validate their initial findings of altered microRNA patterns in the CSF of up to 1000 patients with MS.
- Dr Kevin O’Connor, Assistant Professor of Neurology at Yale School of Medicine, studies immunology and neurology. His laboratory is specifically interested in defining the mechanisms by which immune cells called B cells, and the antibodies they produce, influence tissue damage in autoimmunity. The grant will be used to support work in determining the specificity of autoantibodies and understanding how particular types of B cells initiate and sustain autoimmunity.
- Dr Joshua Bacon, Chair of the Department of Psychology at Stern College for Women at Yeshiva University in New York City, research scientist in the Department of Neurology of the NYU School of Medicine, and member of the clinical and research team in the NYU Multiple Sclerosis Care Center, will use the grant to support his research developing tests to detect speed-of-processing impairments in sub-clinical and early MS and developing a comprehensive cognitive rehabilitation program for patients with MS who have cognitive impairments.
The GMSI was launched in October 2012 at the 28th ECTRIMS Congress with the aim of improving the understanding of MS for the ultimate benefit of those living with the disease. Researchers from across the globe were invited to submit proposals describing promising translational research projects. More than 100 proposals were received.
"At Merck Serono, we recognize the value of a broad R&D ecosystem, and seek to lever insights and expertise from across the continuum of the healthcare landscape," says Dr. Annalisa Jenkins, Executive Vice President and Global Head of Research and Development at Merck Serono. "The Grant for MS Innovation is a unique platform which will help us to accelerate exceptional science that exhibits the potential to become an innovative medicine or a high-value solution for patients. By investing in these research opportunities, we are building a bridge to a future in which more therapeutic options will improve the quality of life for those living with multiple sclerosis.”
Grants will be awarded annually beginning this year. The second call for proposals, for the 2014 GMSI was made by Merck Serono at today’s Satellite Symposium. The awards symposium was co-chaired by David Bates and Maria Trojano. Dr Bates is Emeritus Professor of Clinical Neurology at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, and a member of the GMSI Scientific Committee. Professor Trojano is Professor of Neurology and Chief of the Neurophysiopathology Unit at the University of Bari, Italy. She is Vice President of the ECTRIMS Executive Committee and a scientific committee member of many MS organizations, including the Italian National MS Society. More information about the GMSI can be found at the following website: www.grantformultiplesclerosisinnovation.org
About Merck Serono Merck Serono is the biopharmaceutical division of Merck. With headquarters in Darmstadt, Germany, Merck Serono offers leading brands in 150 countries to help patients with cancer, multiple sclerosis, infertility, endocrine and metabolic disorders as well as cardiovascular diseases. In the United States and Canada, EMD Serono operates as a separately incorporated subsidiary of Merck Serono.
Merck Serono discovers, develops, manufactures and markets prescription medicines of both chemical and biological origin in specialist indications. We have an enduring commitment to deliver novel therapies in our core focus areas of neurology, oncology, immuno-oncology and immunology.
About Merck Merck is a leading pharmaceutical, chemical and life science company with total revenues of € 11.2 billion in 2012, a history that began in 1668, and a future shaped by approx. 38,000 employees in 66 countries. Its success is characterized by innovations from entrepreneurial employees. Merck's operating activities come under the umbrella of Merck KGaA, in which the Merck family holds an approximately 70% interest and free shareholders own the remaining approximately 30%. In 1917 the U.S. subsidiary Merck & Co. was expropriated and has been an independent company ever since.
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