Funding Research to Treat MS

In MS circles all over the Internet, I've noticed many positive themes regarding hope for a cure through research. Thankfully, huge strides have been made into understanding the disease process and effectively treating various multiple sclerosis symptoms.

When I was diagnosed in the early 90's, my treatment options were very limited, and were not particularly effective. Within the past few years, people with MS have been able to avail themselves of a variety of new medications to manage their symptoms-or better yet-to possibly thwart the progression of the disease.

These rays of hope are due in large part to the exciting research undertaken by the scientific community. What I wanted to know, however, is precisely how research funding decisions are made. Specifically:

• Where does the money for MS research come from?
  
  
• Who determines which studies get funded?
  
  
• How are funding dollars distributed to study all the various forms of MS (benign, relapsing-remitting, secondary-progressive, primary-progressive, and progressive-relapsing)?

FUNDING SOURCES

Non-Profit Funding
The funding needed to study a complex disease like multiple sclerosis comes from both public and non-profit sources. A national organization such as the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS) is an example of research funded by a non-profit source. The Society's revenue is a combination of individual donations, membership dues and contributions, legacies and bequests, fund-raising, and investments. Last year, NMSS support in revenue totaled $134 million. Of the 40% of unrestricted income that the chapters share with the national office, half goes toward MS research and medical programs.

The NMSS spends more money on MS research than any national voluntary health agency in the world. This year, for example, the Society will invest $25 million to support the more than 300 MS researchers working in the U.S. and abroad. Since 1946, the NMSS has invested over $284 million in MS research.¹

Although the NMSS is a primary funding source, other governments, foundations, non-profit organizations, and agencies contribute to the overall funding pie as well.

Public Funding
In addition to the private sector, the U.S. federal government is a major source of funding for MS studies. The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Strokes (NINDS) is a branch of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the U.S. Public Health Service. NINDS is the leading supporter of biomedical research on disorders of the brain and nervous system. There are over 245 disorders listed in NINDS Neurological Publications, that are currently under investigation by that agency.²

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