Singapore: EMD Serono, a subsidiary of Merck, highlighted that the company initiated a new global research award to improve understanding of multiple sclerosis for the ultimate benefit of patients. The announcement was made at the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS) congress in Lyon, France.

The 'Grant for Multiple Sclerosis Innovation' will award up to $1.29 million (one million euros) annually to fund innovative research into multiple sclerosis (MS) by academic researchers. Researchers can submit their project proposals via the program's website, grantformultiplesclerosisinnovation.org, and awardees will be announced at next year's ECTRIMS congress in Copenhagen.

"We are committed to driving innovative research to further contribute to our understanding of the disease and ultimately lead to new medical breakthroughs in multiple sclerosis," said Dr Annalisa Jenkins, head, global drug development and medical, Merck Serono. "While tremendous progress has been made over the years, we must continue to search for answers to important scientific questions in the field."

Potential research topics which could be funded through the Grant for Multiple Sclerosis Innovation include MS pathogenesis, predictive markers for treatment response and potential new treatments.

This grant complements other existing programs like EMD Serono's collaboration with the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, the FastFoward collaborative fund. The funds from the grant will be awarded by EMD Serono for projects based in the US and Canada, and by Merck Serono to those based in the rest of the world.