A father diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease (MND) is supporting a campaign to raise £350,000 for a clinical trial of a drug that could potentially reverse the condition. Mark Sommerville, from Uddingston, has teamed up with Nevrargenics, a company developing a drug called Ellorarxine, which has been approved for its first clinical trial.
A Lanarkshire dad who has motor neurone disease ( MND ) has backed a £350,000 campaign to help researchers fund a clinical trial for a drug aimed at reversing the condition. Mark Sommerville, from Uggingston has teamed up with Tony Lockett and Andy Whiting, from Nevrargenics, who are behind a drug which they believe stops and reverses the impact of MND .
Their lead drug, Ellorarxine, has just been approved by the UK MHRA to begin its first clinical trial in MND and Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) patients. However, to accelerate the clinical trial process and begin critical manufacturing, they need to raise £350,000 to advance the early-phase work required to bring Ellorarxine to patients. Mark, 43, who was given his devastating diagnosis in October and told he had 18 months to live, has backed Nevrargenics’ campaign. Dad-of-four Mark said: “MND is a battle against a cruel, life-limiting illness, with no effective treatment options available. “This new drug is something that no one has ever done before. There is no cure for MND, so everything must be done and everything must be done to give people a chance. What have we got to lose? Only everything to gain.” Whiting, the chief executive officer of Nevargenics said the company’s “plan is to get Ellorarxine into MND patients before the end of 2025”. Mark set up the Mark Sommerville Foundation to fund research and believes more needs to be done by governments to help find a cure. Last month, Mark was singled out for support by Prime Minister Keir Starmer. His case was highlighted by Labour MP for Coatbridge and Bellshill Frank McNally, who called for the government to increase funding into research for a cure. Starmer recognised Mark’s work and that of rugby league star Kevin Sinfield, who has raised another million for MND sufferers – the disease that took best pal Rob Burrow in June at the age of just 41
MND Motor Neurone Disease Drug Trial Ellorarxine Research Campaign Funding
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