12 Fox Focus | Research
New Program Fuels the Drug Development Pipeline
Through the Targets to Therapies initiative, scientists work to turn promising theories into viable treatments.
By David Kumbroch
IN 2024, SCIENTISTS AT The Michael J. Fox Foundation( MJFF) presented the Parkinson’ s research community with a bold question:
What are the most promising underexplored drug targets in Parkinson’ s disease?
Targets, in this instance, are molecules that research shows play a role in Parkinson’ s disease. Examples are gene mutations or malfunctioning proteins that lead to cellular damage. Through the Foundation’ s survey, the scientific community identified a stunning number of targets— more than 290— for further examination.
The response was overwhelming.“ We put out the call to the research world,” said Shalini Padmanabhan, PhD, senior vice president of discovery and translational research at MJFF.“ It generated more interest than we could have even imagined.”
“ Understanding potential targets lays the groundwork for a new generation of research that could bring impactful new treatments with it.”
— Shalini Padmanabhan, PhD, vice president of discovery and translational research at MJFF