Posted on August 4, 2007

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Michael J. Fox Foundation Awards $1.2 Million to Advance Drug Development

The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research has announced awards totaling $1.2 million to four research teams working to advance potentially disease-modifying therapeutic targets for Parkinson's disease along the drug development pipeline.

Part of the foundation's Novel Approaches to Drug Discovery for Parkinson's Disease program, the grants were made possible with funding from the Elan Corporation, a neuroscience-based biotechnology company. The initiative is designed to advance developing therapies against targets that already have some promising initial data. The new grants complement those recently awarded through the foundation's Target Validation initiative, which funds efforts to determine the validity of cellular proteins and pathways as potentially promising drug targets.

The awardees include Asa Abeliovich, Ph.D., of Columbia University, who will test small-molecule drugs that can enhance the autophagy pathway, which is involved in clearing away proteins; Neil Howell, Ph.D., of the MIGENIX Corporation in San Diego, who will work with rodent models to optimize administration of a compound that has been shown to be effective in protecting nerve cells from toxic stresses; Peter Jenner, Ph.D., of Proximagen Neuroscience in the United Kingdom, who will investigate the potential of osteopontin as a treatment for Parkinson's; and Pamela Maher, Ph.D., of the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California, whose team will test derivatives of fisetin for potency and efficacy in cell-based and rodent models of the disease.

"We are very pleased to work...with the Michael J. Fox Foundation in the pursuit of effective treatment options for patients suffering from Parkinson's disease," said Dale Schenk, Elan's chief scientific officer. "We congratulate the awardees and are impressed that the Novel Approaches program has attracted such high-quality proposals for potential treatment of Parkinson's disease. We look forward to working together to move us closer to a therapy that can slow or stop progression of this terrible disease."

“MJFF Announces $1.2 Million in Funding to Advance Development of Drug Targets for PD.” Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research Press Release 8/01/07.

Primary Subject: Medical Research
Location(s): California, International, La Jolla, New York, New York City, San Diego, United Kingdom

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