12 Fox Focus | Research
Making High-Impact Investments in Transformative Tools
Imaging tools would transform Parkinson ’ s care and research . A scan could reveal what is happening inside our brains , allowing doctors to make better diagnoses and scientists to understand if potential therapies are effective . For more than a decade , The Michael J . Fox Foundation ( MJFF ) has been leading the field in the development of these critical tools .
A major focus of these efforts is the pursuit of an alpha-synuclein tracer . Alpha-synuclein is a protein that can become toxic and form clumps , which are a hallmark of Parkinson ’ s disease . A PET tracer would allow us to visualize alpha-synuclein clumps in real time . Jamie Eberling , PhD , vice president , research programs , shares that when she started at MJFF 10 years ago , “ very few researchers were working to develop an alpha-synuclein PET tracer .” Today , thanks in large part to MJFF and our partners , researchers around the globe are pursuing it .
Earlier this year , we awarded three teams — from AC Immune , Mass General Brigham , and Merck ( known as MSD outside the U . S . and Canada ) — a total of $ 8.5 million through the Ken Griffin Alpha-synuclein Imaging Competition .
The program , funded in large part through a leadership gift from Ken Griffin , founder and CEO of Citadel , is spurring a scientific race toward this PET tracer .
And it is a race . There are currently 13 clinical trials of potential Parkinson ’ s therapies targeting alpha-synuclein . Right now , drug developers have no definitive way to understand if their therapies work as intended .
Does a therapy lower levels of alpha-synuclein in the brain ? An alpha-synuclein PET tracer would provide that answer .