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New £50,000 pledge for Invest in ME Rituximab Trial/B-cell Research

Messages
28
http://www.ukrituximabtrial.org/Rituximab news-Sep15 02.htm

Investing in ME Research - A New Development

ONE event can change everything for ME.
ONE small charity with ONE BIG Cause announcing it intended to get a rituximab trial project initiated in the UK when others said it couldn’t be done.

ONE researcher who becomes interested in just looking at the disease from a scientific point of view and then finding ONE significant discovery.

ONE band of patients/carers/friends forming a campaign to perform crowdfunding via innovative means to support biomedical research.

ONE small charity organising an annual international Research Colloquium bringing international researchers together which leads to a European group forming to collaborate.

ONE event.
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In 2013, following the BRMEC3 Colloquium, Invest in ME and its supporters honoured the commitment made at the IIME7 conference in 2012 to initiate a UK rituximab trial project.

Thanks to a wonderful group of supporters and support which came from around the world this campaign started and, thanks to generous donations from people who want to see progress in treatment of ME, soon it was on its way to initiate research which was overturning the way things had been done, or not done before.

An attitude of CAN DO instead of can't do is the ethos of IiME and this is supported by the WILL DO attitude of the Let's Do It For ME campaign.

Then one event of enormous significance occurred with a magnificent gesture from the Hendrie Foundation to support the charity’s rituximab project and its strategy of international collaboration with a pledge of £225,000 which allowed this research to become reality and to move things on more quickly.

The work progresses with the team at UCL where it was decided early on that a preliminary B-cell study ought to be performed in order to determine likely responders to the drug. This was something that our advisor and the UCL department thought was necessary.

This was initiated in 2014.

Fane Mensah is now continuing his B-cell research with Dr Jo Cambridge – again funded by IiME.

This is important work and it is being enhanced by the international collaboration which we have built. During this time the research team has collaborated with the researchers at Haukeland University hospital in Bergen, Norway – facilitated by IiME’s Colloqiums, conferences, strategy for international collaboration and our supporters.

In fact the UCL researchers have been in Norway this week to continue this collaboration with Dr Fluge and Professor Mella.
This collaboration benefits both parties.

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We are now pleased to announce that the Hendrie Foundation has pledged another £50,000 to Invest in ME for this research – bringing the total in donations and pledges form the Hendrie Foundation to £275,000.

Sometimes words cannot sufficiently express the gratitude to be conveyed for such a wonderful gesture. The landscape of research into ME has changed due to generosity such as this, and that given by many other groups and individuals over the last two years.

This brings the total raised for the UK rituximab trial and B-cell research to £458,000 - including the cost of the preliminary B-cell study performed by UCL.

These funds secure the further B-cell research which is already underway. We have therefore raised our target to a new amount to restore the amount used by the preliminary B-cell study.

Our great thanks go to the Hendrie Foundation for their trust and support.




Our strategy of interational collaboration in biomedical research is making others take notice.
Though some may ignore or try to downplay the significance of what IiME supporters have achieved it is indisputable that establishment organisations and MRC are only now seeming to change their ''snail pace'' strategy toward ME research because of what IiME supporters have done, and continue to do.


We therefore invite support for the charity as it continues its quest for maintaining the foundation of biomedical research into ME which has been formed.
Please help us by supporting our continuing efforts.



Fundraising's UK Rituximab Clinical Trial and B-cell Research




References
1. Antibodies to ß adrenergic and muscarinic cholinergic receptors in patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

2. Investing in ME Research

3. Haukeland Phase II rituximab clinical trial

4. ME/CFS – Through The Eyes of a Young Researcher

5. Progress of the B-cell Research Project

6. IiME Announce New Target for B-Cell PhD Studentship

5. IIMEC11 and BRMEC6

6. The IiME Proposal for a Centre of Excellence for ME

7. The European ME Research Group
 

Sasha

Fine, thank you
Messages
17,863
Location
UK
Excellent news! Many thanks to the enormous generosity of the Hendrie Foundation. I think it's fair to say that their early donation of £200k gave everyone real hope that a rituximab trial was an achievable target.

I think this is a classic example of how a large fund can be built up from single, large donations and many small donations - without either, this fund would be about half the size it is.

Thank you, Hendrie Foundation! :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:
 

anniekim

Senior Member
Messages
779
Location
U.K
Great news. Previously I think Invest in ME said the organisation that donated £200,000 didn't want to be named, so it's good to have a name and to thank the Hendrie Foundation and all supporters very much.
 
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