Global MS initiative opens applications for research data access

The International Progressive MS Alliance announces the MS Clinical and Imaging Data Resource (MS CIDR) is now accepting applications for data access. 

Available exclusively to the MS research community, MS CIDR aims to accelerate the understanding of MS progression and speed up clinical trials aimed at finding solutions for progressive MS. The resource contains anonymized data collected through 14 pharmaceutical industry clinical trials, and includes approximately 52,000 MRI scans and data from nearly 200,000 clinical visits from more than 13,000 people with MS. 

Applications are open through 17 June 2026. To apply, please visit the MS CIDR website. 

Applicants will be asked to describe the project for which they plan to use the data. Projects must focus on understanding MS progression. 

Projects considered in scope include: 

• "Natural history" disease modelling based on placebo arms 

• Demographic, clinical imaging, and fluid biomarkers and their relationships with outcomes, including clinical and imaging 

• Simulation studies (e.g. Digital placebo twins) 

• Generation of new outcome measures 

Projects considered out of scope for the use of this data include: 

• Comparative effectiveness of drugs in full population, subgroups or individual patients (including by simulation or digital methods) 

• Non-MS-related projects 

• Projects for profit or commercialization (exceptions may be considered with prior authorization and will require additional information, review and signed agreements) 

Investigators working at academic institutions will be required to pay a one-time fee per project to access the data. Industry members will pay for access over a three-year contract period allowing for use on multiple projects. More information about fees can be found in the application. 

MS CIDR was created as a result of the International Progressive MS Alliance's MRI Imaging Biomarker International Collaborative Research Network, which was led by Prof. Douglas Arnold at McGill University. The National MS Society is the lead agency of the International Progressive MS Alliance, and all applications and award agreements will be administered by the National MS Society on behalf of the Alliance. McGill University houses the associated data.