Over the past two decades , pioneering MJFF-backed research has helped clear a path for several promising LRRK2 drugs into the clinic .
ADVANCING BETTER TREATMENTS FOR ALL STAGES OF PARKINSON ’ S
THE MICHAEL J . FOX FOUNDATION 2024 YEAR IN REVIEW which continues to advance in Phase III testing . Roche reported encouraging Phase II results for its alpha-synuclein-directed monoclonal antibody , prasinezumab . Vaxxinity is pushing ahead with its vaccine to reduce alpha-synuclein clumps , following encouraging Phase I results . MJFF supported development for all three of these drugs .
LRRK2 and GBA
Ever since mutations in the LRRK2 gene first were linked to PD in 2004 , MJFF has committed unwaveringly to learning how these mutations increase disease risk — and finding drugs that reduce this risk . Over the past two decades , pioneering MJFF-backed research has helped clear a path for several promising LRRK2 drugs into the clinic .
Over the past two decades , pioneering MJFF-backed research has helped clear a path for several promising LRRK2 drugs into the clinic .
MJFF is launching a new effort that builds on the accumulated progress in LRRK2-targeted drugs . Earlier this year , MJFF secured over $ 40 million in funding to launch the LRRK2 Investigative Therapeutics Exchange ( LITE ), a project laser-focused on de-risking and rapidly expediting development of new therapeutic strategies to target LRRK2 . LITE is being led by LRRK2 pioneer Dario Alessi , PhD , a biochemist at the University of Dundee , UK , who last year received MJFF ’ s Robert A . Pritzker Prize for Leadership in Parkinson ’ s . On top of this intensified funding , at least three companies recently launched drug trials targeting LRRK2 , and leading LRRK2 therapy pioneers Denali / Biogen are continuing to test their inhibitor in people with and without LRRK2 mutations . Several trials also are underway for drugs targeting glucocerebrosidase ( GBA ), another common
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