Provincial trials of MS therapy off the table

Brandon Sun - ONLINE EDITION

By: Larry Kusch

28/09/2012 8:11 AM | Comments: 0

There will be no Manitoba-sponsored clinical trials of a new treatment for multiple sclerosis, but Health Minister Theresa Oswald says MS sufferers should not despair.

The province is close to negotiating an arrangement with a Canadian group that would include Manitobans in a national study of the efficacy of the liberation treatment for MS, Oswald said Thursday.

Earlier in the day, the Manitoba Health Research Council (MHRC) revealed it received only one application to conduct clinical trials for the new procedure and had found it wanting.

A review committee examined the proposal and "based on the criteria that had been established, had just deemed that it was not good enough to go forward," said MHRC executive director Christina Weise.

Instead, the research council recommended Manitoba partner with MS clinical trials organized by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Oswald said discussions with that group are well underway.

"I'm extremely optimistic that we're going to be able to find a way for Manitobans to become part of the clinical study here in Canada," she said from Halifax, where she was attending a meeting of provincial and territorial health ministers.

Eighteen months ago, after considerable pressure from MS sufferers, Premier Greg Selinger committed $5 million for Manitoba-sponsored clinical trials to determine the worth of the liberation treatment, which is unavailable in Canada.

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Provincial trials of MS therapy off the table