Funding Neuro
Laying the Groundwork for Human Trials in MND Treatment
In November 2021, the Alan Davidson Foundation awarded a £75,000 grant to support cutting-edge research led by Professor Steven Gill, a world-renowned neurosurgeon based in Bristol. This funding contributed to a £225,000 pre-clinical gene therapy toxicology study, conducted in partnership with Funding Neuro and the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation. The goal: to lay the essential groundwork for human clinical trials of a pioneering new therapy for Motor Neurone Disease (MND). This innovative research offers real hope for a condition that currently has no cure, combining advanced techniques in gene therapy with a revolutionary drug delivery method directly to the brain.
The Approach: Targeting MND at its source
MND is a devastating and progressive disease that affects the brain and nerves, gradually robbing individuals of their ability to move, speak, and ultimately breathe. Current treatments focus on symptom management and quality of life. However, Professor Gill’s work aims to go much further—potentially slowing or reversing disease progression. His approach combines three advanced elements:
- Gene Therapy using viral vectors, which have shown potential to protect and regenerate motor neurons.
- Convection Enhanced Delivery (CED), a technique developed and refined by Professor Gill, which allows therapeutic agents to be delivered directly to targeted areas in the brain.
- A surgically implanted delivery system, designed to bypass the blood-brain barrier and ensure precise administration of the therapy.
- This trio of technologies, already demonstrating success in pre-clinical testing, holds the promise of a transformational treatment pathway for MND.
Alan Davidson Foundation’s role
The Alan Davidson Foundation’s £75,000 contribution was critical in securing the final piece of funding required for the £225,000 pre-clinical phase, enabling the research team to move ahead without delay. With full funding now in place—thanks also to My Name’5 Doddie Foundation and Funding Neuro’s own fundraisers—the study can rigorously assess the safety and effectiveness of this treatment before progressing to human trials.
A step closer to clinical trials
The success of this pre-clinical stage will open the door to human clinical trials, bringing us significantly closer to a potential breakthrough therapy. For people living with MND and the families affected, this marks a hopeful and urgently needed step forward.
In 2023 the foundation awarded the project an additional £157,500 in funding to further the research and move closer to the goal of taking the MND indication through to first-in-man studies.
The Alan Davidson Foundation is proud to have contributed to this transformational and highly targeted approach to MND treatment. This project aligns directly with the Foundation’s mission to support innovative research that accelerates the development of therapies for neurological conditions.
