Stroke Preclinical Assessment Network

What is SPAN? The Stroke Pre-Clinical Assessment Network (SPAN) seeks to conduct late-stage preclinical studies of putative neuroprotectants combined with reperfusion. SPAN utilizes a novel, adaptive, secured system for parallel testing of promising interventions designed to extend the treatment time window and/or improve outcome compared to reperfusion when combined with thrombolysis, thrombectomy or both.

Why SPAN? SPAN was established to address a significant need in the scientific investigation of stroke treatment. In the past, a plethora of putative neuroprotectants proceeded to clinical trial based on favorable preclinical assessment, only to fail in subsequent clinical trials of human stroke patients. The recent successful development of thrombectomy for acute ischemic stroke generated considerable enthusiasm for re-testing treatment candidates in combination with thrombectomy. Thus, SPAN is intended to screen and select highly promising treatment candidates for possible further study in human clinical trials.

Announcing SPAN

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Dubbed the Stroke Preclinical Assessment Network (SPAN), the NIH-funded program, under the leadership of Patrick Lyden, MD, professor of Neurology at Cedars-Sinai, will assess the effectiveness of six potential therapies for stroke. The researchers also are charged with investigating whether applying higher standards of rigor to preclinical research—that is, phases of medical research that take place before therapies are tested in humans—could produce results that are more likely to succeed in human clinical trials.