Partnership with global pharma Roche driving innovation in multiple sclerosis research
Congratulations to Dr Vilija Jokubaitis, Group leader, MS Genomics and Prognostics group, Department of Neuroscience (Central Clinical School) who has entered into a long-term scientific partnership with Swiss multinational pharmaceutical company Roche to collaborate, share research data, and create a unique bio-databank resource.
The four-year project will directly result in new knowledge of the effect of pregnancy on immune cells in people with MS and healthy volunteers and a greater understanding of how mechanistic changes improve short-term MS disability outcomes.
The cause of MS is still one of the biggest scientific mysteries in neuroscience, with no cure for patients. The life-long neurological disease affects people at the peak of their working and reproductive lives, e.g. between 20 and 40 years of age. In turn, lost productivity and high healthcare expenses results in a cost to Australia of more than $1.7 billion annually.
Pregnancy may be protective against long-term disability progression in women with MS. Work by Dr Jokubaitis and collaborators has revealed that pregnancy can delay the onset of the disease, and that women with MS who have pregnancies accumulate less disability over time. Pregnancy offers a unique context to understand the pathophysiology of the disease and develop novel therapeutic targets that may stop progression of the disease. Although not a cure, this is one of the closest steps to generating health impact for MS.
Through Roche’s Neuroscience program, the four year ground-breaking project will allow sharing of expertise and resources between academics at Monash, and lead scientists at Roche, working collaboratively towards the acceleration of common goals.
Collaboration is the key to address the current gaps in fully understanding the pathophysiology of multiple sclerosis. Disease outcomes are highly variable once diagnosed by clinicians in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). The majority of patients need to remain on life-long disease-modifying immunotherapies (DMTs) to reduce irreversible neurological disability. Although there are 14 DMTs available, each with different mechanisms of action, none of them stop progression of the disease. Hence, there is an urgent need for therapies that can stop MS progression.
Six MS specialists sites around Australia will be involved in the project, with local team members including Professors Helmut Butzkueven and Associate Professor Anneke van der Walt at Alfred Health, Dr Kirsten Palmer and Dr Nevin John at Monash Medical Centre, Dr Olga Skibina at Eastern Health, Professor Jeanette Lechner-Scott at John Hunter Hospital (NSW), Professor Pamela McCombe from Brisbane and Women’s Hospital (QLD), Professor Allan Kermode at The Perron Institute (WA).
Dr Vilija Jokubaitis, primary chief investigator of the four-year project commencing this year said, “I’m very excited to kick off this project, one that I hope will help us to better understand some of the fundamental biological processes driving MS outcomes in a key group in our community. Of course, I am incredibly lucky to be supported by world-leading clinical and scientific collaborators locally, nationally and internationally in this truly multidisciplinary project.”
“This is a well-deserved recognition and a true reflection of the excellence of Dr Joubaitis’ research work and leadership at Monash in the last five years,” said Professor Helmut Butzkueven, Head of the Department of Neuroscience.
It is envisioned that the project will in the longer term inform new therapeutic development, and new molecular diagnostics that accurately predict prognosis for women (pregnant and non-pregnant) with MS.
About Monash University
Monash University is Australia’s largest university with more than 80,000 students. In the 60 years since its foundation, it has developed a reputation for world-leading high-impact research, quality teaching, and inspiring innovation.
With four campuses in Australia and a presence in Malaysia, China, India, Indonesia and Italy, it is one of the most internationalised Australian universities.
As a leading international medical research university with the largest medical faculty in Australia and integration with leading Australian teaching hospitals, we consistently rank in the top 50 universities worldwide for clinical, pre-clinical and health sciences.
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