Merck, a leading science and technology company, joins the global Multiple Sclerosis, MS, community today in recognition of World MS Day, to raise awareness of the devastating disease. With the slogan ‘Life with MS’, Merck celebrates global solidarity and hope for the future.

Merck is committed to improving the lives of people living with MS through real-world data collection, support for caregivers and patients, as well as awareness programmes globally. In support of World MS Day, Merck has introduced a global carer partner survey with the International Alliance of Carer Organisations, to help identify unmet needs and bring visibility and support to family caregivers around the globe.

With Multiple Sclerosis affecting 2.3 million people worldwide, it is imperative that proper treatment measures are taken. The prevalence of MS in the GCC alone is approximately 60-70/100,000. Each year, World MS Day provides individuals and organisations the opportunity to raise awareness of this condition and a chance to start new conversations about the steps they can take to make a difference to people with MS.

Dr. Jihad Inshasi, MD, FAAN, FEAN, Consultant Neurologist at Rashid Hospital in Dubai, said, "World MS Day serves as an important reminder of the real challenges millions of people living with MS face every day. Their strength to fight this illness is what motivates us to develop different treatment options including improved innovative therapies, drug delivery devices, enhanced patient programs and support services. At present, Merck is working on a new treatment regime that is expected to become available to further support people living with relapsing-remitting Multiple Sclerosis."

One of the greatest advances in neurology has been the explosion of research in the field of Multiple Sclerosis. The landscape of MS management is rapidly changing in the last few years with the introduction of new theories, new diagnostic criteria, new treatments and new monitoring tools for evaluating the disease severity and response to treatment. "This is very exciting and is an improved advancement in our medical technology. In the past, there were no approved therapies for MS, and today we have 7 injectable drugs and 4 oral medications, in addition to other medication advances. We are entering a new era in the field of MS," added Dr. Inshasi.

Merck has played an instrumental role for the last 20 years in developing foundation therapies for people living with MS. The company is currently working on a new treatment option for MS which, when approved, would be the first-of-its-kind dosing regimen to reduce the burden of doses frequency to only 10 days of oral treatment every year. Dr. Inshasi has been involved in this research on the new MS treatments, emphasising the trust that multinational research entities has for the healthcare sector in the UAE.

"MS is the most common, debilitating chronic disease in young adults" Yiannis Vlontzos, Head of MEA Region at Merck explained. "It is a disease that causes a number of unpredictable neurological symptoms that can result in increasing disability effecting about 2.3 million people worldwide. Merck has a long-term experience on Multiple Sclerosis treatment and is currently working on the development of another treatment option in relapsing remitting Multiple Sclerosis that will deliver high efficacy in short treatment cycles."