Invest in ME (Research) has created a separate strand to our Biomedical Research Fund which will be explicitly used for this UK rituximab trial.
A specific fund-raising thermometer was created just for this project – see the image on our web page. This has been updated as we progressed with the crowd funding. It includes all donations and pledges of funding.
The total funding requirement for this trial was initially set at £350,000 with the caveat that this would be refined as we progressed the project and as the preliminary study began at UCL.
In fact, after an impressive campaign lasting a year, in August 2014 Invest in ME Research) secured the initial target amount of £350,000.
This was a daunting task but not one the charity thought impossible to achieve.
IiME’s supporters rose to the challenge with positive campaigns which raised funds and awareness.
Interestingly it was less than some funding given recently by the MRC to researchers performing research in other areas connected to ME.
In order to build a trials protocol and identify likely responders a preliminary B-cell study has been underway at UCL. This will lead to the clinical trial.
In order to continue B-cell study research in ME, and as part of the overall research portfolio that Invest in ME has with UCL, we are committing ourselves to fund a new PhD studentship at UCL beginning next year. This will augment the proposed Invest in ME rituximab clinical trial, will secure the longer term research into ME and will continue the relationship which IiME has built up with UCL.
If you can support us in any way – by fundraising, by spreading word of this, by simply letting us know that you support us in this effort then we welcome that support.
More info on how to support Invest in ME
