Fast Forward, LLC, a not-for-profit subsidiary of the National MS Society, is funding research at the Universities of Cambridge and Edinburgh, UK to screen for compounds that can stimulate myelin repair in MS. Myelin is the substance that surrounds nerve fibers and is a target of the immune attack on the brain and spinal cord in MS.

The project, which will be directed by Robin Franklin, PhD, DVM, grew out of findings from a Nervous System Repair and Protection Initiative funded through the Society’s Promise:2010 campaign. Drs. Franklin and Charles ffrench-Constant, PhD (University of Edinburgh) found a molecule called RXR-gamma that is “turned on” following myelin damage, and which play a role in forming new myelin. Now Dr. Franklin is being funded to find molecules that can stimulate RXR-gamma. The award provides Dr. Franklin with $200,000 over a 12-month period that started July 13, and like other Fast Forward partnerships, payments will be contingent upon the completion of specific milestones.

Dr. Franklin and colleagues are working with Domainex, a drug discovery company that has an exceptional track record of drug candidate delivery. Dr. Franklin’s team and Domainex are using a proven virtual screening method that will allow them to identify a library of about 1,000 molecules that can promote RXR activity.

“We are thrilled to collaborate with the world class team of scientists led by Dr. Franklin,” said Dr. Timothy Coetzee, Chief Research Officer at the National MS Society. “Driving research to restore function in people with MS is a critical component of the Society’s research strategy.”

nationalmssociety.org, 20/8/2012