Update on amantadine from MND-SMART trial

MND-SMART has announced the latest results of the third drug to be tested by the innovative clinical trial. 

An independent trial committee has reviewed the data for amantadine and decided that the trial should stop testing the drug. The interim analysis results show that amantadine has not demonstrated a benefit in slowing MND progression.  

Please visit the MND-SMART website to read their statement and watch a summary video.

The results will now be published in an academic journal so other scientists know that amantadine requires no further testing in people with MND.  

At stage one analysis, it was decided that amantadine would continue to be evaluated as part of the MND-SMART trial.

MND Scotland was the foundational funder of MND-SMART, a landmark clinical trial, which started recruiting in February 2020, as a result of the charity’s initial £1.5 million investment. MND-SMART is pioneering in its approach and design for neurological conditions, allowing multiple drug treatments to be tested rapidly and efficiently at the same time.  The innovative trial is designed to speed up the search for new and effective medicines that can stop, slow or reverse the progression of MND.   

Dr Jane Haley, Interim CEO and Director of Research at MND Scotland, said: “We are incredibly proud to have worked with the MND-SMART team and wider MND community to create lasting MND clinical trial infrastructure for the UK’s biggest ever MND clinical drug trial.  While today’s results about amantadine are disappointing, we would like to thank everyone who has participated in the trial to date. People with the disease taking part in clinical trials is vital to help us find effective treatments and a cure.” 

Based at the Euan MacDonald Centre for MND Research at the University of Edinburgh, MND-SMART strives to ensure equitable access to a clinical trial for people with MND.  

MND-SMART remains open to recruitment at 26 centres across the UK and is currently recruiting to the tacrolimus arm, launched in early 2025. The trial is planning to start testing a further drug later this year.