Progressive MS. from pathophysiology to drug discovery

Progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) will be a major area of research interest for years to come. No treatments exist and success in the field will generalise to other neurological conditions where neurodegeneration coexists with neuroinflammation. The issue is complex, and interdisciplinary approaches – uniting scientists with different competences (neurobiology, immunogenetics, etc.) and ‘mindsets’ (academia and industry) – will be decisive. The International Progressive MS Alliance is catalysing this process through various initiatives, the most recent of which was a meeting where scientists from academia (also outside the MS field) and from industry reviewed data and strategies to determine the next steps towards the translation of current knowledge into effective therapies.