The MS ForumAn Educational Initiative

History 1992: PPS (later, Parexel Med Comms) invited by

Schering AG to work with interferon beta for

relapsing/remitting multiple sclerosis

1993: Founding of MS Forum and first Workshop

1994: First issue of International MS Journal

1994 – 2011; 17 years of high-quality educational

output and KOL engagement

2011: Final MS Forum Workshop and edition of the

MS Forum Journal

The MS Forum: Commercial Objectives To help establish and enhance company’s credibility

in the multiple sclerosis arena

To act as a ‘barrier to entry’ for competitors

To build and extend relationships with opinion

leaders

To offer the opportunity to link local and international

initiatives

Programme Objectives

To increase awareness of multiple sclerosis and of the

issues within the disease area

To improve understanding of multiple sclerosis among

general neurologists and other medical (and non-

medical) people

To bring together workers in different disciplines in

multiple sclerosis and encourage interaction and a

mutual understanding of shared issues

To link national groups and individuals in an

international forum

Measures of Success International consensus

reached on management

issues in multiple sclerosis

Opinion leader usage of

publications and willingness

to participate

Publications distributed

world-wide

Publications used as part of

clinical teaching

High quality relationship with

Executive Committee

members

Establishment of

relationships with workshop

and symposium faculty

Participant enthusiasm for

workshops and symposia

Invitation to participate with

the MS Forum Symposium

extended by each of the last

four ECTRIMS Secretariats

MS Forum Executive CommitteeChairman

David Bates, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK

Founding Committee members

Barry Arnason, Chicago, USA

Michel Clanet, Toulouse, France

George Ebers, Oxford, UK

Cesare Fieschi, Rome, Italy

Sten Fredrikson, Stockholm, Sweden

Reinhard Hohlfeld, Munich, Germany

Ioannis Milonas, Thessaloniki, Greece

Xavier Montalban, Barcelona, Spain

Takahiko Saida, Kyoto, Japan

MS Forum Activities – examples Modern Management Workshop – ‘The diagnosis of multiple sclerosis’

Modern Management Workshop – ‘The symptoms of multiple sclerosis and their treatment’

Modern Management Workshop – ‘Cytokines in multiple sclerosis’

Modern Management Workshop – ‘Psychosocial factors in multiple sclerosis’

ENS Interactive Symposium – ‘Diagnostic challenges in multiple sclerosis’

Modern Management Workshop – ‘Genetic factors in multiple sclerosis’

Modern Management Workshop – ‘Design and interpretation of clinical trials in multiple sclerosis’

Modern Management Workshop – ‘Biosynthesis of myelin – Consequences for remyelination strategies’

EFNS Interactive Symposium – ‘Diagnostic challenges in multiple sclerosis II’

Modern Management Workshop – ‘Imaging in multiple sclerosis’

ECTRIMS Symposium – ‘New treatments for multiple sclerosis: A review of clinical trial results’

Modern Management Workshop – ‘New insights in immunological tolerance mechanisms’

ECTRIMS Interactive Symposium – ‘Practical management of multiple sclerosis’

Modern Management Workshop – ‘Environmental factors in multiple sclerosis’

MS Forum Survey – ‘Management of multiple sclerosis’

Modern Management Workshop – ‘Mechanisms of action and clinical effects of beta interferon in multiple sclerosis’

MS Forum Questionnaire – ‘Management of multiple sclerosis: Questionnaire for people with MS and clinicians’

ECTRIMS/ACTRIMS Interactive Symposium – ‘Perceptions and reality in multiple sclerosis’

Modern Management Workshop – ‘Pathology and clinical features of multiple sclerosis’

ECTRIMS Interactive Symposium – ‘Practical management of multiple sclerosis’

Etc, etc, etc

MS Forum Publications

Series of monograph-style publications based on the

workshops

Detailed, referenced summaries of complex or topical

issues that are written for the non-specialist in mind

Generally alternate between clinically oriented topics

and state-of-the-art science

Highly respected, often used by opinion leaders as

teaching aids in their medical schools

MS Forum Publication DistributionUSA 10 000 Germany 2000

Canada 1000 France 1500

Netherlands 750 Italy 540

Belgium 300 Spain 500

Switzerland 150 UK 300

Sweden 300 Finland 250

Portugal 250 Denmark 230

Australia 200 Austria 200

Norway 200 Greece 150

Hungary 100 Japan 100

Russia (CIS) 100 Czech Republic 70

Baltic Republics 60 Ireland 100

Poland 50 South Africa 80

New Zealand 40 Slovenia 40

Rumania 20 Turkey 80

Ukraine 5 Bulgaria 10

Slovakia 10 Others 6430

TOTAL: 26,115

MS Forum Interactive Symposia Highly respected educational symposia

Novel format of case studies or audience questions

as part of didactic presentations

Interactive keypads allow the audience to offer their

views on the discussions in real time

Typically 70% of the audience actively participate

Positive feedback from audiences and congress

secretariats alike

The International MS Journal Primarily review-type articles that focus on specific

issues in MS and its management

Seventeen years of volumes completed

Each volume consists of three issues, published

approximately every 4 months (to coincide with

meetings, wherever possible)

The largest circulation specialist neurological journal

in the world (approximately 20,000 copies)