Spring / Summer 2024 | Research 11
What the new targeted funding program does is build on the Foundation ’ s previous de-risking efforts — and in that sense , it may be MJFF ’ s best nudge yet .
The core idea is to winnow down ongoing Parkinson ’ s efforts across the field , whether funded by the Foundation or not , to five or six “ underdeveloped but clinically relevant targets ” and then “ accelerate their advancement through the target validation pipeline and into therapeutic development ,” as MJFF put it in a note to the Parkinson ’ s research community . In other words , turbocharge the de-risking of the most promising research . While this seems like a common-sense approach , such goal-oriented coordination of multiple stakeholders is actually relatively rare in science , which tends to be carried out in siloed , disparate efforts — contributing to the long timelines of traditional therapeutic development .
To decide which research will be selected for funding , MJFF has assembled a committee to be led by scientists with extensive experience working with MJFF . The goal of the new program will be to try to answer the questions : “ What are the key gaps in understanding the five new targets ? What are the questions that a small biotech company can ’ t address on their own , and how can we use the Foundation ’ s resources to actually solve these questions ?”
De-risking doesn ’ t mean all risk is eliminated — even the most promising targets can leave researchers empty-handed . What the new targeted funding program does is build on the Foundation ’ s previous de-risking efforts — and in that sense , it may be MJFF ’ s best nudge yet .
Earlier this year , the Foundation sent a request for information to the Parkinson ’ s research community asking for their best ideas about targets with the most promise . By mid-February , when the deadline closed for submitting ideas , it had received over 225 suggestions — a reflection of the confidence and trust placed in MJFF by researchers .
Special contributor Joe Nocera is an awardwinning journalist and podcaster , and former business and opinion columnist for The New York Times and Bloomberg . He has been following and writing about MJFF ’ s impact on Parkinson ’ s research since 2008 .
PHOTO BY FRED CONRAD