The MS Australia Clinical Trials Network was established to encourage high quality clinical MS research in Australia and to increase awareness of clinical trials and clinical research for people with MS and other demyelinating diseases.
Clinical trials help to determine if a new drug, or other interventions such as surgery, physiotherapy or psychological support, is safe and effective.
For people with MS and other demyelinating diseases, participating in clinical research may provide early access to new treatments and an improved quality of life. It can be rewarding – it is your opportunity to contribute to progress towards better treatments and a cure.
Always speak to your treating doctor before volunteering for a clinical trial.
How to find out about MS clinical trials in Australia
You can search our listing of ALL MS clinical trials to find out about the types of clinical trials currently in progress or find a trial that might be recruiting patients in your state.
Please feel free to download or print the information about a specific trial as a reference, or to take with you for discussion when you visit your neurologist.
TrialSmart: Education Series on Clinical Trials
MS Australia has developed an educational series for people living with MS and the wider MS community exploring different aspects of clinical trials, called TrialSmart. TrialSmart provides the background and information to enable empowered choices for people living with MS.
Learn more about how clinical trials are run and what’s involved
For further information on the way clinical trials are run and links to more detailed resources please click here.
Treatments currently being developed
The UK based Multiple Sclerosis Trust hosts a very useful listing of drugs in development for MS with information on how they work and the results to date of clinical trials for these drugs. Please bear in mind that the information on licensing of these drugs relates to the situation in the UK and Europe and does not necessarily reflect the current licensing status of the drugs in Australia.
Current treatments for MS
To read about some of the currently available evidence-based treatment for MS, the Cochrane reviews have over 40 reviews relating to MS including the immune-based MS treatments, non-pharmacological treatments and treatments for symptoms of MS. A plain language summary is provided with each review, with the choice to drill down deeper into the information contained in the full article. Click here to explore the Cochrane library.
The Cochrane Collaboration is an international, independent not-for-profit organisation, dedicated to making up-to-date, accurate information about the effects of healthcare readily available worldwide. The Collaboration consists of specialist groups of health professionals and researchers who work together to produce independent, peer-reviewed, systematic reviews of the trial data in a particular health or medical research area.
