A new global research alliance has been created to help move forward groundbreaking therapies for people with spinal cord injury.
The partnership between the International Spinal Research Trust (ISRT) and the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation will see a new joint approach, which will help accelerate the progress of therapies to people living with paralysis.
The two organisations have a shared commitment to bringing therapeutics that restore function and independence to the spinal cord injury (SCI) community.
Through the creation of the new alliance, the ISRT and Reeve Foundation can take a co-ordinated global approach to their work, with joint working hailed as being of “critical” importance.
And to make the joint approach, the two foundations are to co-fund a newly-created £1 million translational award, focused on restoring function in chronic SCI through novel circuit formation.
“We have seen major advances in our understanding of spinal cord biology, including improvements in diagnostics, acute treatment and rehabilitation,” says Harvey Sihota, chief executive of ISRT.
“Building on these medical advances, we are now seeking to accelerate processes which can bring restorative treatments to those living with SCI.
“Given the complexity and scale of the challenge, we see a unified approach as critical to success.”
The organisations said that at the core of their new alliance is a collaborative blueprint to accelerate the development and delivery of meaningful therapeutics.
This will establish a framework for decision-making, planning and governance to advance the most promising therapies from the pre-clinical stage through clinical trials and into medical practice.
The alliance is focusing on combinatorial interventions, innovative protocols and broader stakeholder engagement for fast-tracking these interventions through the translation stage.
“This collaborative strategy will address critical systemic issues — including preclinical testing, optimised clinical trial design, regulatory considerations, intellectual property and the feasibility of commercialisation – that are key to bringing novel therapies to market and ensuring access for the paralysis community,” says Jay Shepard, chairman of the Reeve Foundation board of directors.
Dr David Allan, chairman of ISRT, adds: “We are thrilled to be joining together to participate in this innovative effort to address one of the most complex and daunting challenges in the medical world.
“Our two organisations share very similar research ambitions and have grown closer in recent years. It is our privilege to get this important initiative underway and we look forward to welcoming others into a growing coalition for action.”
