The University of British Columbia (UBC) has announced a C$33.8 million ($24.8 million) gift from an anonymous donor in support of multiple sclerosis (MS) research and care at the university’s medical school.

The gift to the UBC Faculty of Medicine and the VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation is reportedly the largest donation ever for MS research worldwide and will be used to establish the BC MS Cell Therapies Translational Research Network, a research and patient care hub leveraging the latest advances in cell and gene engineering to develop, manufacture, and test next-generation cell-based therapies. The gift includes C$14.85 million ($10.9 million) toward recruitment of world-class researchers and C$15 million ($11.01 million) to help create a biomanufacturing infrastructure for local development and clinical testing of homegrown cell and gene therapies. In addition, Vancouver Coastal Health will receive C$4 million ($2.94 million) to develop and deliver a more robust, integrated, and comprehensive model of care within the UBC Hospital MS Clinic and augment existing services with digital tools and lifestyle programs that improve quality of life for patients and their families.

“This gift allows us to better translate research discoveries into clinical practice and will allow B.C. patients to be the first to benefit from discoveries made here at home by participating in clinical studies,” said UBC Hospital MS Clinic director Virginia Devonshire.

“MS patients don’t have five or 10 years to wait,” said UBC Hospital MS Clinic neurologist Anthony Traboulsee. “But through participation in early-stage clinical trials for promising new therapies, we can give them a greater chance at success. Thanks to this investment, I can envision a future where we deliver innovative, lifesaving therapies that have the potential to conquer MS one day.”

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