TRICALS Masterclass 2026: Europe joins forces
February 16, 2026
From February 11 to 13, the TRICALS Masterclass 2026 took place in Amsterdam, bringing together researchers from top ALS centres, industry representatives, patient (advocates), and regulators united by one shared objective: to improve and accelerate the development of treatments for ALS.
The TRICALS Masterclass is an interactive meeting with approximately 150 participants organized by TRICALS. This year’s edition once again fostered meaningful knowledge exchange and in-depth dialogue on the future of ALS research and therapeutic development. Participants from over twenty countries travelled to Amsterdam to take part in the three-day programme.
Programme
The TRICALS Masterclass combined short presentations with interactive discussions. Researchers, industry, patient representatives and regulators shared their insights jointly identifying key challenges as well as potential solutions. The open plenary discussions that followed integrated perspectives from across the field, encouraging constructive exchange and collaboration.
The program of this year’s TRICALS Masterclass included:
- Improving start-up time for clinical trials
- Optimizing the transition from phase 2 to phase 3 studies
- Overcoming challenges in regulatory pathways and global trial equity
- Advancing precision selection in ALS: patient selection and treatment matching
- Evaluating novel therapeutic strategies for ALS
- Examining innovations in clinical trials design and endpoints
In addition to the formal program, the TRICALS Masterclass offered ample opportunity for informal meetings. Participants established new connections and explored opportunities for further collaboration.
Reflection and call to action
The TRICALS Masterclass 2026 generated new insights into the opportunities and challenges within European ALS research and defined key next steps to accelerate progress. These include the systematic collection of data from people living with ALS, enhanced facilitation of drug development in Europe, and improved interpretation of clinical trial outcomes to better assess treatment effects.
TRICALS is already translating these priorities into concrete action. Through the MAGNET project, we are developing a standardised framework for phase II and phase III clinical trials, aimed at shortening start-up timelines and reducing the overall costs of drug development.
Through these coordinated efforts, we are accelerating the development of new therapies and further strengthening European collaboration in the fight against ALS.
