The idea of having an Asia-Pacific-centered group for MS was conceived from the MS forum in Taipei in 2007. Then, a group of prominent neurologists decided that a regional committee would be useful to share best practices in MS and to serve the MS Community in the Asia Pacific region. This would be modelled after the European, American and Latin America Committees on Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS, ACTRIMS, LACTRIMS).
After some discussion, the group decided on the name – Pan-Asian Committee on Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (PACTRIMS). Since then, the inaugural PACTRIMS congress was successfully launched in Kuala Lumpur in 2008, followed by Hong Kong, Bali, Singapore, Beijing, Kyoto, Taipei, Seoul, Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City, Sydney and Singapore in 2019.