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Motor Neurone Disease - Systematic Multi-Arm Adaptive Randomised Trial
Sponsor: University of Edinburgh
Summary
MND-SMART is investigating whether selected drugs can slow down the progression of motor neuron disease (MND) and improve survival. The study is 'multi-arm' meaning more than one treatment will be tested at the same time. The trial started with 3 arms; drug 1 (memantine), drug 2 (trazodone) and placebo (dummy drug). A third drug, amantadine, was added in April 2023. A fourth drug, tacrolimus, was added in March 2025 in Edinburgh and across all sites in April 2025. The first two drugs, memantine and trazodone, were removed from the trial in September 2023 due to lack of benefit. The trial currently has 4 recruiting arms; amantadine, liquid placebo (matched to amantadine), tacrolimus, and tablet placebo (matched to tacrolimus). This allows the evaluation of each drug versus placebo. Participants will be randomly allocated between the treatment arms they are eligible for. Medicines being tested are already approved for use in other conditions. MND-SMART has an 'adaptive' design. This means medicines being studied can change according to emerging results. Treatments shown to be ineffective can be dropped and new drugs can be added over the duration of the study. This will allow many treatments, over time, to be efficiently and definitively evaluated. The medicines being tested have been selected following a rigorous process involving a systematic, unbiased, and comprehensive review of past clinical trials data, as well as information from pre-clinical research (studies in laboratories), for MND and other related neurodegenerative disorders. Drugs have been ranked for inclusion in MND-SMART by a group of independent MND experts according to set criteria. These include consideration of how the drugs work, their safety profiles, and the quality of previous studies. New drugs will be selected for investigation in MND-SMART based on continuous review of constantly updated scientific evidence as well as findings from state-of-the-art human stem cell based drug discovery platforms. These can be added by substantial amendment to the protocol.
Key Details
Gender
All
Age Range
18 Years - Any
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Enrollment
1150
Start Date
2020-02-27
Completion Date
2030-12
Last Updated
2026-03-04
Healthy Volunteers
No
Interventions
Memantine Hydrochloride Oral Solution
Memantine hydrocholoride taken once daily
Trazodone Hydrochloride oral solution
Trazodone Hydrochloride taken once daily
Placebo oral solution
Placebo taken once daily
Amantadine Hydrochloride Oral Solution
Amantadine Hydrochloride taken once daily
Tacrolimus 1Mg Cap
Tacrolimus 1Mg overencapsulated tablet taken once daily
Placebo capsule
Placebo taken once daily
Locations (22)
Southern Health and Social Care Trust, Craigavon Area Hospital
Portadown, County Armagh, United Kingdom
Aberdeen Royal Infirmary
Aberdeen, United Kingdom
University Hospitals of Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust
Birmingham, United Kingdom
University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust
Brighton, United Kingdom
West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust
Bury St Edmunds, United Kingdom
Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Cambridge, United Kingdom
Cardiff and Vale University Local Health Board
Cardiff, United Kingdom
Clinical Research Centre , Ninewells Hospital
Dundee, United Kingdom
Anne Rowling Regenerative Neurology Clinic
Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital
Exeter, United Kingdom
Queen Elizabeth University Hospital Clinical Research Facility
Glasgow, United Kingdom
NHS Highland Clinical Research Facility, Raigmore Hospital
Inverness, United Kingdom
East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust
Ipswich, United Kingdom
Royal London Hospital
London, United Kingdom
St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
London, United Kingdom
King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
London, United Kingdom
Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom
Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Norwich, United Kingdom
University Hospitals of Dorset NHS Trust
Poole, United Kingdom
Clinical Research Facility Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust
Salford, United Kingdom
Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Sheffield, United Kingdom
Clinical Research Facility University Hospital Southampton
Southampton, United Kingdom