The overarching aim of Neuro-SysMed is to develop new therapies and improved treatment strategies. The Centre facilitates early access to these new therapies for patients across Norway through participation in national and international randomised clinical trials. Our ultimate goal is to reduce the burden of disease.
The Centre has established a comprehensive, novel support framework to address the unmet treatment needs of Norwegian patients with these four diseases. By doing so, we enable patients from all over Norway to access cutting-edge treatment trials, and we develop precision medicine. Specifically, Neuro-SysMed continues to work towards:
- discovering novel therapeutic compounds through both in silico and in vitro screening and assessing them in novel disease models
- conducting clinical trials and bringing cutting-edge research to patients
- developing biomarkers for disease detection, patient stratification, treatment response, and precision medicine
- enhancing patient care by improving daily function and quality of life
- introducing systems medicine into Norwegian neurology
Research Plan and Strategy
Neuro-SysMed’s clinical trials are central to its mission, serving as the backbone for its translational and systems medicine activities. Biological samples and multimodal data generated through our trials continue to fuel cross-disciplinary research across clinical, molecular, computational, and epidemiological domains. The integration of expertise across neurology, genetics, bioinformatics, imaging, and experimental medicine has further strengthened our ability to translate discoveries into clinical impact.
Neuro-SysMed organises and conducts randomised clinical trials to evaluate the efficacy and safety of both novel compounds and established drugs used for new indications. These studies aim to delay or halt disease progression, reduce symptom burden, and optimise care for individuals affected by neurodegenerative disorders. While each trial addresses distinct scientific questions and endpoints, all contribute harmonised, high-quality data, including clinical scores, genomic and transcriptomic profiles, blood and cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers, tissue-based molecular analyses, and advanced neuroimaging. Collectively, these data enable the identification of biomarkers for early and precise diagnosis, improved patient stratification, prediction of treatment response, and more accurate prognostic assessment, ultimately supporting personalised and mechanism-based treatment strategies.
In 2025, the Centre reached a major milestone with the completion of six randomised clinical trials: SMART-MS, OVERLORD-MS, TAF-MS 1, NO-PARK, N-DOSE AD, and N-DOSE PD. The results from these studies will be disseminated throughout 2026 and are expected to provide important new insights that may shape future therapeutic strategies within their respective fields.
Within systems medicine, the Parkinson’s disease (PD) Node continues to lead internationally. The ParkOme project has mapped molecular profiles from tissue samples of more than 1,300 postmortem brains from individuals with PD and related neurodegenerative diseases, establishing the largest brain omics database in PD worldwide.
This unique resource underpins ongoing efforts to identify clinically actionable biomarkers across all four disease areas in the Centre. In parallel, several advanced cellular models have been developed and implemented for mechanistic studies and therapeutic screening. Significant progress has also been made in in silico drug discovery, leveraging large-scale omics data in combination with national Norwegian health registries to prioritise and validate promising treatment candidates. Together, these advances reinforce Neuro-SysMed’s integrated clinical–molecular–computational framework and accelerate the path toward improved patient care.