World Multiple Sclerosis Day | “The integration of biotechnology and AI allows us to move towards increasingly precise and timely treatments”
Interview with Mireia Forner, Medical Head of Neurology at Sanofi Iberia, a company working to change how multiple sclerosis is understood and treated.
Every year, more than 2,500 new cases of multiple sclerosis (MS) are diagnosed in Spain, and as of 2024, over 55,000 people were living with this autoimmune disease, according to data from the Spanish Society of Neurology (SEN). Globally, around 2.8 million people are affected by MS, and the number of new diagnoses has increased by 22% over the past decade.
Multiple sclerosis occurs when the immune system attacks the brain and spinal cord for reasons not yet fully understood. Its symptoms vary widely from person to person and depend on the location and severity of the nerve fiber damage. While there is currently no cure for the disease, treatment can help reduce symptoms, prevent new relapses, and improve quality of life for those affected.
Biotechnology enables the development of more targeted, effective, and personalized solutions. Its combination with technologies such as artificial intelligence is allowing for a better understanding of the mechanisms of disease progression and the analysis of large datasets, which is helping to accelerate the development of new therapies. This new horizon is explored by AseBio on World Multiple Sclerosis Day through a conversation with Mireia Forner, Medical Head of Neurology at Sanofi Iberia, a company working to change how multiple sclerosis is understood and treated.
“This is a paradigm shift: it’s not just about treating what is visible, but about quantifying, at an earlier stage, what has not yet manifested clinically. Detecting early signals of progression is the new frontier in multiple sclerosis,” explains Forner, who emphasizes that “the biggest challenge is disability progression, which can advance without visible symptoms and have a devastating impact.”
Sanofi is working with healthcare professionals, including neurologists specializing in MS, to develop a long-term, science-based, anticipatory approach that enables action before the damage becomes irreversible.
One of Sanofi’s key focuses is the development of treatments targeting chronic neuroinflammation, which plays a key role in the progression of the disease. “We use biomarkers like neurofilament light chain (NfL) and advanced neuroimaging techniques to detect damage before it becomes evident.” To achieve this, they combine science, technology, and artificial intelligence to “make the invisible visible” and generate evidence that contributes to more personalized therapeutic decisions. “This integration of biotechnology and AI allows us to move towards increasingly precise and timely treatments,” Forner explains.
Early detection and monitoring of disease progression are two key aspects, and Forner stresses that they are working to ensure “progression does not go unnoticed.” For this, they are developing tools that integrate biomarkers, advanced neuroimaging, and digital data to detect early signs of functional decline. She highlights that artificial intelligence plays a crucial role in this process by enabling the creation of more sensitive models capable of capturing each patient’s condition more accurately and quickly, “facilitating more informed decision-making.”
Collaboration with research centers, universities, and biotech startups is essential to Sanofi’s multiple sclerosis strategy. “It’s part of the DNA of our strategy,” Forner states. “By joining forces with clinicians, hospitals, biotechnology experts, data analysts, and AI specialists, we can accelerate innovation and respond to patients’ real needs.”
Sanofi’s guiding principle is that “open and connected innovation should not only generate science but also impact,” because, as Forner emphasizes, “the best solutions arise when science is combined with new ways of thinking.”
The interview concludes by discussing the future outlook for multiple sclerosis. At Sanofi, they envision a future with an integrated, personalized approach to the disease—one that combines the voices of patients and healthcare professionals with biotechnology, biomarkers, artificial intelligence, and digital tools to anticipate progression and act before the damage becomes irreversible. “Biotechnological development will allow us to adapt treatment to the unique characteristics of each person and detect signs of progression even before they become clinically evident.”
In addition to this scientific transformation, Forner believes a cultural shift is also necessary. In line with this goal, the “JaquEMate” campaign has been launched, using chess as a metaphor to illustrate that, as in a complex chess game, every move counts in multiple sclerosis, and anticipating the next step can make all the difference.