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Neurological Foundation of New Zealand An exciting milestone has been reached in her latest project. She has been exploring the potential of an anti-inflammation/itch drug, nalfurafine, to be repurposed as a treatment for MS. The drug is thought to promote recovery (remyelination) of the cells damaged by the disease. With enough evidence in hand, Associate Professor Kivell and colleague Professor Anne La Flamme co-founded a spin-out company, Rekover Therapeutics, to take the project to the next stage by conducting clinical trials in humans. REVERSING DAMAGE FROMMULTIPLE SCLEROSIS Associate Professor Bronwyn Kivell is one of NewZealand’s leading neuroscientists. She has been supportedwith various grants from the Neurological Foundation since 2011 to develop drug treatments for multiple sclerosis (MS). “There are currently nodrugs that safely target remyelination and repair inMSpatients, butwe are getting closer. Our results are showing huge promise and coulddeliver healthbenefits that extendwell beyondMS to other demyelinatingdiseases such asAlzheimer’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or spinal cord injuries.” Bronwyn Kivell, Associate Professor of physiology and neurobiology at Victoria University of Wellington’s School of Biological Sciences