Committed to accelerating research into novel Parkinson’s Disease therapies, The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research is again awarding Asceneuron with a grant to advance the study of its clinical stage drug candidate as a potential new treatment.
An estimated seven to 10 million people worldwide have Parkinson’s Disease (PD). Although there is no current cure for PD, Ecublen’s based clinical stage company, Asceneuron, is discovering and developing therapeutics for the high unmet medical needs of patients experiencing neurodegenerative disorders.
The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF) grant will fund a preclinical proof-of-concept study to assess the disease-modifying properties of Asceneuron’s O-GlcNAcase (OGA) inhibitor ASN51 in a preclinical model of inherited PD. The genetic model is characterised by the overexpression of a-synuclein harbouring the A53T mutation known to cause early-onset, familial PD in humans. Aggregated forms of a-synuclein are the main component of the characteristic Lewy body pathology and are thus thought to be causative of the loss of dopaminergic neurons in PD.
This study aims to extend previously published findings demonstrating a reduction of motor impairment with Asceneuron’s OGA inhibitors (e.g., Permanne et al., ACS Chem. Neurosci. 2022) to this alternative genetic disease model. The results will further interrogate the mechanism of action of OGA inhibitors with respect to a-synuclein toxicity and aggregation and provide support for the clinical exploration of ASN51 in PD patients. The project will begin immediately, with results expected in the fourth quarter of 2022.
Dirk Beher, Chief Executive Officer, Co-Founder of Asceneuron, commented: “We are pleased to have been awarded further funding support from The Michael J. Fox Foundation to progress research on our next generation O-GlcNAcase inhibitor ASN51. ASN51 has the potential to make a meaningful impact on patients suffering from Parkinson’s disease to improve quality of life and slow progression. We are proud to receive the continued support from a foundation that contributes meaningfully towards the development of improved therapies for those living with Parkinson’s disease.”
(Press release/RAN)
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