Medpace Medical and Clinical Operations Experts Share Key Insights from the ENCALS Meeting
In June 2025, Medpace neuroscience experts attended the ENCALS (European Network to Cure ALS) meeting in Turin, Italy. The conference served as a strong representation of the global amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) community, bringing together 960 participants from 60 countries. Attendees ranged from small biotechs and large pharmaceutical companies to patient organizations, site networks, key opinion leaders, and young professionals—all united by a shared commitment to advancing ALS clinical research.
This year’s international conference examined the latest developments in ALS research and clinical advancements. A broad spectrum of topics was covered, including biofluid biomarkers, emerging applications of artificial intelligence (AI), and the power of collaboration in ALS.
Below, Dr. Filipe Rodrigues, Medical Director, and Valentina Valsecchi, Senior Director, Clinical Trial Management, explore 3 key themes from ENCALS 2025.
Biofluid Biomarkers
Biomarkers are coming of age in ALS. The conference showcased the growing emphasis on biofluid biomarkers as a tool to support diagnosis, monitor disease progression, enrich clinical trial populations, and measure treatment effects.
There was a particular focus on serum neurofilament light chain (sNfL). Drawing on Tofersen’s approval for people with ALS due to SOD1 mutations, the field is convinced that sNfL has matured to the point of being able to support clinical development and regulatory decisions previously only accessible to survival and functional outcomes.
Many other biomarkers were on the agenda, and this focus suggests that fluid-based biomarkers are not just research tools anymore but are becoming an essential component of trials and clinical monitoring.
Medpace provides customized, high quality central laboratory services through four wholly-owned laboratories. Our global laboratory facilities, standardized testing platforms, comprehensive test menu—including sNfL—and stellar project management teams allow Medpace to set up fully customized projects for our clients. Learn more about fluid-based biomarkers for neurodegenerative diseases.
The Power of Collaboration
As a rare disease with several rarer genetic and syndromic subpopulations, ALS remains a devastating condition, but the conference emphasized how collaborative efforts are shifting the research landscape. Despite the rarity of the disease, inter-border and -institutional collaboration, public involvement and national networks/registries all help advance and streamline clinical research.
Platform studies like HEALEY and MAGNET are redefining ALS research, allowing multiple treatments to be evaluated at once.1,2 This reduces cost, trial time, and increases patient participation, leading to an accelerated path to approval. Medpace has experience managing trials with complex protocol designs, including platform trials, and has strategic processes in place for addressing the unique challenges of these types of studies.
Collaboration across the ALS community—coupled with innovative study designs—underscores the importance of openness, data harmonization and data-sharing, and stakeholder diversity in driving progress toward overcoming this disease.
The Utilization of AI
The conference also recognized AI as an emerging application in ALS to advance care and treatment developments. AI can be used to analyze large datasets, streamline patient recruitment and retention, stratify study populations by progression trajectory, symptomatic cluster or genetic profile, disentangle signals from multimodal and/or multidimensional inputs, and accelerate drug discovery by facilitating the identification of targets, and selection and optimization of candidates. As AI becomes increasingly integrated in ALS care and clinical trials, important considerations must be carefully addressed to ensure effective implementation, including data privacy and regulatory alignment.
This year’s ENCALS meeting highlighted the latest breakthroughs in ALS and other motor neuron diseases and the importance of accelerating clinical research for neurodegenerative diseases. Groundbreaking research is shaping the future of ALS clinical development as the ALS community continues to push scientific boundaries.
Unable to connect with our experts at ENCALS? We welcome the opportunity to discuss your upcoming clinical development plans. Contact our neuroscience experts today.
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Accelerate the execution of your neurodegenerative disease study by partnering with a global CRO that not only understands the unique challenges of neurodegenerative diseases but also possesses the necessary experience to help you overcome them. As a scientifically-driven CRO, Medpace brings together a dedicated team of neuroscience experts who combine scientific leadership with operational excellence to help accelerate your neurodegenerative disease compound to approval.
