President’s Letter:

Dear Friends and Supporters of MRF,

I am very happy to share significant news with you that is a direct outcome of MRF’s work: 20+ companies now have myelin repair drug development programs underway!

• Because of MRF’s pioneering efforts, more than 20 companies have a diverse array of myelin repair compounds in various stages of evaluation with the focus of getting myelin repair treatments to MS patients.
• It’s estimated that these 20+ companies are spending between $1 billion and $2.7 billion combined per year on myelin repair programs. MRF’s efforts have had a dramatic impact, as well as a massive “return” on our donors’ generous gifts: for every dollar of research funded by MRF per year, these companies are spending more than $200 each year to move potential myelin repair treatments to FDA approval.

MRF’s impact continues: Our current biomarker initiative will accelerate these myelin repair drug development efforts for MS patients — both now and in the future — by reducing the development-related time and costs.

A Brief Recap of MRF: Our Activities and Accomplishments

Phase 1: Launched myelin repair research (2002 to 2016)

As a non-profit medical research foundation, MRF has always:

• Taken on research challenges that others can’t or won’t
• Coordinated all necessary scientific members in the value chain, combining the strengths and unique skills of each participant to create results-driven outcomes
• Performed crucial functions that efficiently utilized funds donated to MRF and leveraged those dollars for dramatic results.

MRF jump-started basic myelin repair research in academia and demonstrated the possibility of repairing the brain with a therapeutic drug. This has led to increased funding of basic myelin related science by others. In addition, we created the Translation Medicine Center to bridge the gap between academic research results and drug development by pharmaceutical companies. And by funding a myelin repair clinical trial in collaboration with the NIH, we led the way in moving myelin repair compounds toward positive patient outcomes.

MRF’s activities and results reduced the risk associated with myelin repair drug development which paved the way for pharmaceutical companies to begin investing in myelin repair drug research programs. Our pioneering and innovative science investment is why more than 20 companies have myelin repair compounds in various stages of drug development at this time.
 

Phase 2: Complete our mission by identifying a myelin repair biomarker (2017 to 2025)

The complexity and difficulty of drug development means that industry wide, for compounds that enter preclinical research, only about 1 out of 250 makes it through to FDA approval. The many steps required take over a decade and are very costly. The multiple phases of clinical trials alone can take up to 7 years for an MS treatment.

Based on this, it’s paramount that:

1. more compounds enter the pipeline, and
2. the compounds are swiftly evaluated in order to expedite availability to MS patients.

Identifying a myelin repair biomarker that clearly indicates whether a compound facilitates myelin repair will make these two objectives a reality.

However, biomarker development is complicated and requires intensive coordination of academics, pharma, biobanks, the NIH, and others — that don’t typically collaborate.

That’s why MRF made it our mission in 2017 to develop a myelin repair biomarker that can speed “Go / No Go” decisions and get myelin repair treatments to patients faster. We knew we had the unique ability and track record required to manage the process. Today, we are executing our comprehensive research roadmap by funding experiments in 11 labs around the world. The biomarker we identify will support all the current myelin repair drug development efforts, PLUS aid in the identification of additional compounds with myelin repair potential.

We are very pleased with the progress we have made and remain confident that we will complete this final MRF objective by the end of 2025.

Your support is needed for us to complete this critical endeavor! Please donate today.

Sincerely,