We are sure many of you will have seen the Mail on Sunday story on Interleukin-2, the treatment under study in the Mirocals trial which has had significant funding from the MND Association and other partners and completed in late 2022.

The emerging results, as reported at the 33rd International Symposium on ALS/MND in December 2022, are truly encouraging.

While the Mail on Sunday story is largely accurate, we would urge you to read this blog post from the MND Association – for background.

For those wanting more detailed information, please also see the Association’s statement on Mirocals published soon after the symposium.

We understand that work on defining which groups of patients that might benefit and analysis of further data on the scope for longer survival is ongoing.

In the meantime, we will be finding out as much information as possible from our contacts in the research community, the charities and other interested parties. We will also be seeking ways to speed up the approval process if there is a ‘growing’ consensus in the scientific community that Interleukin 2 might provide significant benefit to some patients. We will also be investigating potential early access pathways for patients prior to any formal approval. 

Encouragingly, we believe the scientists may already be on the case. As Professor Gilbert Bensimon, one of the lead scientists behind the research, says,

There is still work to be done with sample analysis to understand the beneficial biological effects that we believe are occurring, as well as addressing issues around drug formulation and administration. But the priority will be the discussion with drug regulatory agencies on the next steps to hopefully add this promising treatment to the ‘tool kit’ of therapeutic options available to the medical and patient community

https://www.mndassociation.org/app/uploads/2022/12/Final-MIROCALS-press-release-08122022.pdf

We hope to get back with more news shortly. Please stay tuned to our website and our Twitter account @united2endmnd for further updates.