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Who's working on it
The research institutes, companies and funders driving ME/CFS research, in Australia and around the world.
2 min read
Last reviewed 8 November 2026
In brief
No large pharmaceutical company is working on ME/CFS. The field relies on small biotechs, universities and charities.Much progress comes through Long COVID research, which has far more funding. Australia’s main research centre is NCNED at Griffith University .
The landscape
No major pharmaceutical company is developing an ME/CFS drug. The work is being done by small biotech companies, research institutes and patient-funded charities . Much of the recent progress has come via Long COVID , which has far more patients and funding. The likeliest path to a treatment is that a drug gets approved for Long COVID first and is then used for ME/CFS.
Research centres
Organisation
Focus
Status (Sept 2026)
Griffith University NCNED (Gold Coast, Australia)TRPM3 ion channel research; LDN trials; brain waste clearance
TreatMELC LDN trial opening 18 October 2026; mechanism studies recruiting
Deakin University / Barwon Health (Geelong, Australia)TRI-ME trimetazidine trial
Recruiting in Victoria
Charité (Berlin, Germany)Immunoadsorption, HBOT, inebilizumab (PIONEER), aripiprazole (PAIS-AriSE), rehab
The largest clinical trial hub in the field; German government funded
Haukeland University Hospital (Bergen, Norway)Daratumumab (RESETME)
66-patient trial under way, closed to new applicants
Stanford (US)PET imaging; low-dose aripiprazole clinic data
Research
Johns Hopkins (US)Blood-brain barrier study
Under way
Brigham & Women’s Hospital (US)Autonomic and blood flow testing
Research
University of Edinburgh / DecodeME (UK)Genetics; blood biomarkers
Next phase: Sequence ME & Long Covid
Companies
Company
Treatment
Status (Sept 2026)
BioVie Bezisterim (oral anti-inflammatory that reaches the brain)
Phase 2 Long COVID results in Sept 2026; Phase 3 planned
Simmaron Research (non-profit)Low-dose rapamycin1
Placebo-controlled follow-up planned for mid-2027
APTA Therapeutics (Germany)Rovunaptabin (formerly BC007), an autoantibody neutraliser2 ,3
Acquired Berlin Cures’ assets after the company’s insolvency; new Long COVID trial planned in Coimbra, Portugal
Mitodicure (Germany)MDC002, targeting muscle energy and PEM4
Preclinical; no human trials yet
AIM ImmunoTech Ampligen (rintatolimod), IV
30+ years of development; not approved anywhere for ME/CFS
Fareon (Mount Sinai spin-out)Wearable magnetic device
Long COVID randomised pilot published Sept 2026; invite-only follow-up pilot; larger trial planned for early 2027
Funders
Solve M.E. (US): funds research including Simmaron’s rapamycin work5 Open Medicine Foundation (US/international): funds the LIFT trial (Boston), the StudyME registry and moreME/CFS Research Foundation (Germany): €2.4 million to seven projects in its 2026 funding round6 ME Research UK and the ME Association (UK)Stafford Fox Medical Research Foundation (Australia): $6.4 million over five years to Griffith NCNED, including its LDN trials7 NHMRC (Australia): funds TRI-ME, and is developing the first Australian ME/CFS clinical guideline with $1.1 million from the Federal Government8 ,9 NIH RECOVER-TLC (US): Long COVID trialsCanadian Institutes of Health Research
References Low-dose rapamycin alleviates clinical symptoms of fatigue and PEM in ME/CFS patients via improvement of autophagy: a pilot study Open-label Ruan BT et al. (Simmaron Research), Journal of Translational Medicine , 2025. 109 enrolled; 52 of 70 (74%) who reached day 30 were responders; 6 mg weekly; no placebo group APTA Therapeutics news room News APTA Therapeutics, 2025. Announced acquisition of Berlin Cures' assets, July 2025 Safety, tolerability and clinical effects of rovunaptabin (BC007) in post-COVID syndrome (reCOVer): a prospective, exploratory, placebo-controlled, double-blind, randomised phase IIa trial RCT Hohberger B et al., EClinicalMedicine , 2025. n=30, autoantibody-selected; fatigue and function improved vs placebo Mitodicure: MDC002 News Mitodicure GmbH, 2026 Solve selects Simmaron Research as recipient of ME/CFS Catalyst Award News Solve M.E., 2025 Research funding 2026: €2.4 million to seven projects News ME/CFS Research Foundation, 2026 Largest medical research grant to help ME/CFS and long COVID research News Griffith University News, 2023. $6.4 million over five years from the Stafford Fox Medical Research Foundation Backing belief with better support for people with chronic fatigue News Minister for Health and Aged Care, 2024. $1.1 million to the NHMRC to develop clinical guidelines ME/CFS clinical practice guideline development Guideline National Health and Medical Research Council (Australia), 2026. Indicative timeline: draft guideline in 2027, release by late 2027 or 2028