Cure For MND Foundation
National MND Therapy Development Pipeline and Clinical Trials Consortium
As the largest independent funder of Motor Neurone Disease research in Australia, the Cure for MND Foundation’s vision is a world without MND. Integral in this vision is our determination to help facilitate the translation of the growing body of new knowledge about the disease into potential treatments for MND patients in Australia and abroad.
We believe that in the coming years any person in this country diagnosed with MND should have the opportunity to participate in a clinical trial of investigative new drugs, or evidenced based re-purposed medications. This goal reflects the two core priorities of the Cure for MND Foundation in regards to our research funding:
- to help facilitate and expedite the pre-clinical development of promising new compounds in the laboratory through our translational research grants program
- to help deliver these potential therapies to MND patients through the provision of access to clinical trials within the Cure for MND Foundation Clinical Trials Consortium.
The National MND Therapy Development Pipeline is the single largest collaborative MND research undertaking ever in Australia, and along with bringing promising new compounds from overseas biotechnology and research bodies into clinical trials here in Australia, the pipeline will support Australian MND researchers, clinicians, and patients through funding development of homegrown drugs from our labs into clinical trials for Australian MND patients. The project’s key components include:
- A Clinical Trials and Translational Research Advisory Committee (CTAC) comprised of world-class MND clinicians and researchers to help oversee our translational research grant processes and clinical trial roll-out
- A commitment to help progress promising new drugs in the lab, funded from pre-clinical testing through to clinical trial stages, as identified by our expert advisory committee
- A collaborative consortium of 10 leading clinical trial sites to fast-track patient recruitment once agents are ready to roll-out in clinical trials
- And hopefully, an effective treatment for MND available to Australian patients within the next 5 to 10 years
For more information about our research grant process, our current drug development pipeline, and Cure for MND sponsored clinical trials scroll down and click on the links below.
New MND Drug Development
The Drug Development Process from the lab bench all the way to the patient’s bedside
Cure for MND Research Grants
Currently open Research Grant Schemes and Cure for MND Grant Assessment Processes
Currently Funded Clinical Trials
Current and upcoming Australian clinical trials funded by the Cure for MND Foundation
Cure for MND New Drug Pipeline
Currently funded drug development in our MND Therapy Development Pipeline project
Clinical Trials and Translational Research Advisory
The Foundation has gathered leading MND researchers, neurologists, and experienced clinical trials physicians from Australia and abroad to lead our drug development program and research grant process, and to help facilitate the roll out clinical trials in Australian MND clinics
Prof. Matthew Kiernan
Chair
Prof. Dominic Rowe
CTAC Member
Prof. Steve Vucic
CTAC Member
Prof. Rob Henderson
CTAC Member
Assoc. Prof Susan Mathers
CTAC Member
Dr David Schultz
CTAC Member
Dr Piers Blombery
CTAC Member
Dr Ian Davis
CTAC Member
Dr Jeremy Shefner
International Assessor
Prof. Michael Benatar
International Assessor
Research Collaborations
In addition to our primary research aims of new drug development and clinical trials, the Cure for MND Foundation is proud to provide financial support to the following organisations working in fields relevant to fighting Motor Neurone Disease in Australia:
Motor Neurone Disease Registry
The Australian Motor Neurone Disease Registry is a de-identified disease based registry that facilitates the collection and storage of Motor Neurone Disease data. It includes information such as patient demographics, site of onset of disease, diagnosis date, treatment type, changes in disease, complications related to disease progression and the impact of new treatments and interventions for Motor Neurone Disease. The main registry goals are; to improve patient care, continuously evaluate patient management, improve the understanding of MND/ALS, and form significant scientific research collaborations
Victorian Brain Bank
Located at The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health in Melbourne, the VBB is a collaborator of the Australian Brain Bank Network (ABBN), which is a not-for-profit consortium of brain banks across Australia. The VBB supports research into the study of brain and mind disorders by providing tissue to researchers who, using current technologies, aim to unlock our understanding of how brain diseases such as Motor Neurone Disease (MND) occur and this will hopefully lead to improvements in diagnosis, the development of early diagnostic tests, therapeutic interventions, and development of preventative strategies.
Without you MND will keep on killing…. Click to donate today
The Cure for MND Foundation is the largest independent financial supporter of MND research and clinical trials in Australia
We fund the best and brightest MND researchers across Australia to help develop promising new therapies in the lab to the roll into clinical trials for Australians living with MND.
No. of Australian Research Grants Awarded
No. Of Australian Clinical Trials Funded
$million Spent on Funding Research
$Million Spent on Funding Clinical Trials
