Since 2004, when Neurogel en Marche Association purchased the patent for du NEUROGEL™, two very determined leaders, Jean-Luc Gay and Pierre Rondio have worked relentlessly to create and organize a an international community of scientific and medical researchers dedicated to the development, testing and documenting the benefits of NEUROGEL™. Thanks to their continued efforts, four milestones have been crossed. We are now ready to move on to clinical trials ; after all the years of ongoing research and development, a demonstrable potential cure is within reach !
2007 - CREATION OF A SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY AROUND NEUROGEL™
The Association contributed to the development of NEUROGEL™ by providing scientific teams with batches of NEUROGEL™, and by sharing knowledge and coordinating between the major players. Aside from the researchers specialized in the spinal cord, world renowned scientists such as Pr. Beaulieu, inventor of DHEA and RU486, also offered their support. These long-term efforts finally paid off: in December 2009, a conference held in Prague brought together the NEUROGEL™ community’s key actors.
OCTOBER 2009 – THE PRAGUE SUMMIT
The October meeting was sponsored by Neurogel en Marche Association. This conference brought together the most dynamic leaders of the scientific and technical NEUROGEL™ community. The purpose of the meeting was to redefine the modalities and requirements of a human trial with the help of the following participants:
- Pr. ALFREDO GORIO: Head of the national Italian program on lesions of the spinal cord. - Pr. Antonio Reis, Lisbon, Portugal : one of the most noted neurosurgeons in Europe. -Pr. Eva Sykova, member of the Academy of Sciences of Prague, Czech Republic. The institute is equipped with a laboratory in compliance with the European norms required for a clinical trial. - Pr. Decherchi’s team : conducting a pre-clinical trial on NEUROGEL™ in France. - Dr. Pinet, has the expertise and is the historical manufacturer of NEUROGEL™. He has his own laboratory in Canada. - Representatives of Neurogel en Marche Association.
The « Prague Summit » was a turning point in the history of NEUROGEL™: researchers, a neurosurgeon, the manufacturer of NEUROGEL™, and associations of paralyzed people gathered to discuss the modalities of a first clinical trial with NEUROGEL™. A substantive debate marked the beginning of a strong collaboration between the major actors of the future clinical trial, making this meeting a major success.
Now that this summit is over, the fundamental challenge for the Association is to raise the necessary funds to obtain the authorization to conduct a clinical trial.
Click here to see the video of the Prague meeting.
JUNE 2010 – AFSSAPS CONFIRMS THE CREDIBILITY OF THE PROJECT
The AFSSAPS, the highest health authority in France, evaluates clinical trials and grants the authorization to market new therapeutic approaches.
After several meetings with the AFSSAPS, the Association was able to present its project. In June 2010, after completing its pre-evaluation of the NEUROGEL™ clinical project, the AFSSAPS notified us of its favorable opinion in a certified letter. The AFSSAPS’s main mission or « core business » is risk assessment and the validation of clinical trials prior to marketing ; its role is not to encourage scientific teams at the risk of being accused of being both judge and jury. Therefore, the agency’s s support for such an atypical project shows it considers it to be potentially innovative ; it is a critical step forward inconvincing donors and sponsors of the credibility of the project.
DECEMBER 2010, THE ASSOCIATION IS HOSTED BY THE ELYSEE PALACE
Each year, the French government allocates 5 billion euros to SCI health related expenses. This amount does not include rehabilitation and reintegration expenses. In this context, investing a substantial contribution to fund a clinical trial for a promising therapy makes sense financially as well as morally.
This is why the leaders of Neurogel en Marche sought the support of French officials on numerous occasions. In 2009, they were finally granted an interview with President Sarkozy’s cabinet director.
Once the results of the pre-clinical trials conducted by Dr. Decherchi in Marseille have been published, authorization and funding for a human trial will have increased potential to be granted.
