L'intervento di Paola Zaratin (Director of Scientific Research) in occasione dell'evento "Il valore della ricerca biomedica" che si è tenuto a Pula (CA) il 3 aprile 2019.

1. Patients’ Organizations
Italian MS Society and its Foundation
Paola Zaratin
Director of Scientific Research

2. Bill of Rights
ALL PEOPLE WITH MS HAVE THE RIGHT TO A RIGOROUS AND
SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH OF EXCELLENCE TO DISCOVER THE CAUSES,
UNDERSTAND THE MECHANISMS OF PROGRESSION AND THE
POTENTIALS TO REPAIR DAMAGE, TO IDENTIFY THE POSSIBLE
TREATMENTS WITH A CONCRETE IMPACT ON QUALITY' OF LIFE IN
EACH PHASE OF THE DISEASE.

3. Italian MS Society: Strategic Pathway
BILL OF RIGHTS
MS AGENDA 2020
BAROMETER
IMPACT OF RESEARCH
ON PEOPLE WITH MS

4. Italian MS Society
Research Strategy Map and Portfolio
Zaratin P, Battaglia M.A. and Abbracchio MP, Trends in Pharmacological Sciences, 2014 – Cell Press

5.  Goals
Fund promising MS treatments discovery and
development research
Accelerate the availability of new treatments by speeding
the translation of MS research
 Guiding Philosophy
De-risk early stage programs, also for external partners
Source opportunities globally
Program selection based on parallel scientific and business
assessment
Fund at multiple stages (discovery, preclinical, proof of
concept, and clinical trial)
Italian MS Society
Focus on Innovative Treatments

6. Italian MS Society
Innovative Treatments: the ecosystem
Ensuring expert inputs in drug discovery an
development process via multidisciplinary
networks
Ensuring that any inventions or IP are
appropriately protected if/when they are
discovered
Enabling “Business Development”

7. Investment in turning
“high” into “low-hanging fruits
Zaratin P, Battaglia M.A. and Abbracchio MP,
Trends in Pharmacological Sciences, 2014 – Cell Press

8. ITALIAN MS SOCIETY RESEARCH NETWORK
TO DE-RISK EARLY STAGE PROGRAMS
Italian MS Society Proficiency Areas and Infrastructures
DRUGS/MOLECULES
CLINICAL TRIALS
CENTERS
DATA SHARING
GENETICS
IMMUNOMODULATORY
MYELIN REPAIR
IN VITRO & IN VIVO ACTIVITY
ENABLING BIOMEDICAL
AND REHABILITATION
TECHNOLOGIES

9. C E N T E R S
Professor Marco Salvetti
ITALIAN MS SOCIETY CLINICAL PLAFORM
Phase II trials in multiple sclerosis and
in neurodegenerative diseases
Exploratory, and experimental medicine trials
REPURPOSING INITIATIVE

10. FISM 2010/R/2 Project (PI: Professor Maria Pia Abbracchio):
Innovative re-myelinating strategies for multiple sclerosis via the
exploitment of the new oligodendrocyte receptor GPR17
SELECT AND OVERSEE
OPEN AND INTEGRATE
COMMIT AND INTEGRATE
GPR17
1
3
2
Understand GPR17 biology
Innovative Therapies
GPR17 modulators – Joint Patent
Italian MS Society: GPR17 Love Story
Pharma
Venture capiltal

11. The "social contract" implicit in the patent system
…so that others can learn from it and improve upon it!
from European Patent Office
Between innovation and sustainability
What else is needed?

12. Next challenge: investing in high hanging fruits
‘multistakeholder collective impact’ model
Source: Zaratin P, Battaglia MA, Abbracchio MP. Nonprofit foundations spur translational research. Trends
Pharmacol Sci. 2014 Nov;35(11):552-5

13. Multi-Act
This project has received funding from the European Union’s
Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under the
Grant Agreement No. 787570
MULTI-ACT
A Collective Research Impact Framework and multi-variate models to
foster the true engagement of actors and stakeholders in Health Research
and Innovation
Paola Zaratin, MULTI-ACT project coordinator on behalf of MULTI-ACT Consortium

14. “ACT LIKE AN ORGANIZATION, BUT THINK LIKE A MOVEMENT”
TRANSFORMATIONAL MISSIONS:
major strategic issues or challenges
In such ventures the focus of the business moves beyond avoiding risks or
enhancing reputation and toward improving its core value creation ability by
addressing major strategic issues or challenges

15. FISM 2011/R/13
Rational design of new
candidate compounds for
multiple sclerosis
treatment based on
analysis of biological
targets identified
through genome wide
association studies in
Sardinia
Professor F. Cucca

16. Link with other diseases
Repurposing Research Strategy

17. Our Mission: To expedite development of effective disease modifying
& symptom management therapies for progressive forms of MS