Pharmaxis Ltd. has found new funding to breathe life into a drug that looked like it might sit on the shelf for a while, but now appears to be a good candidate for tackling Parkinson’s and other neurodegenerative diseases.
Target ALS Foundation Inc. and the Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation LLC (ADDF) have announced the first four award recipients in a new initiative to identify and develop biomarkers for neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal degeneration (FTD).
At the AD/PD 2022 international conference on Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Diseases, AC Immune SA presented images showing its positron emission tomography (PET) tracer detecting pathological alpha-synuclein (a-syn) in human subjects’ brains. The abnormal accumulation of a-syn, a natively unfolded and soluble presynaptic protein, is a neuropathological feature of neurodegenerative disorders.
PERTH, Australia – Bioinformatic and cell technology company Genieus Genomics Ltd. is using the power of the human genome to build a platform for neurodegenerative diseases to develop diagnostic tests for personalized medicines.
Researchers from Finland and Italy published a biomarker-based algorithm for the diagnosis of dementia in the journal Diagnostics. The algorithm enables clinicians to distinguish between various neurodegenerative diseases with shared clinical presentations and select appropriate treatment. The algorithm relies primarily on blood biomarker measurements to diagnose the type of dementia much earlier than is possible with the diagnostic tools in use today.
LONDON – Neuvasq Biotechnologies has launched with a €20 million (US$23.7 million) series A to take forward a new approach to treating neurological disorders by reversing age- or injury-related damage to the blood-brain barrier.
LONDON – Another Novo Seeds start-up has graduated, with Muna Therapeutics ApS closing a $73 million series A to take forward small-molecule treatments for neurodegenerative diseases.
LONDON – Newco Amyl Therapeutics Ltd. has raised €18.3 million (US$22.3 million) in a series A, to pick up the baton on a technology for neutralizing toxic protein aggregates by binding to their amyloid folds.
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is one of the most common neurodegenerative diseases, and the role of ?-synuclein accumulation and the subsequent death of dopaminergic neurons in the midbrain have long been recognized as key steps in the disease. Progress in understanding genetic risk factors, meanwhile, has uncovered multiple genetic risk factors. Even though aging is the single biggest risk factor for PD, there are versions of the disorder that affect children.
The new peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARgamma) agonist leriglitazone (hydroxypioglizatone; Minoryx Therapeutics), has a better profile for treating neurodegenerative diseases, such as X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy (X-ALD), than similar drugs, including pioglitazone (Actos; Takeda).
