The Michael J. Fox Foundation Annual Report 2016 – Frameworks for Progress | Page 6

“The Michael J. Fox
Foundation, almost
singlehandedly, has
catapulted… research.”
—BioWorld Today, October 2016
When a promising target
demonstrates sustained potential
to benefit people with Parkinson’s,
we move quickly to coordinate an
entire field of activity in support of
its continued forward movement.
We tackle roadblocks head-on,
providing researchers with resources
to generate data and build the case for
high-impact ideas, and sophisticated
tools that can help science move
through testing and toward
regulatory approval faster. This
includes characterizing molecular
biology, developing strategies to
objectively measure pathology and
treatment effects, assembling patient
cohorts, and creating technology
infrastructure to gather and analyze
“big data” for use by researchers in
MJFF-led and independent studies.
And, it’s clear that our Foundation’s
“de-risking” method — a critical
4
The Michael J. Fox Foundation
framework for progress — is working.
Today, several symptomatic therapies
for motor and non-motor symptoms
are in Phase III clinical testing, with
one or more expected to file for FDA
approval within the calendar year;
compare that to the PD landscape as
recently as 2011, when not a single
Parkinson’s therapy was being tested
in late-stage clinical trials. And
there are no fewer than nine disease-
modifying therapies advancing
through clinical testing that could
slow, stop or even reverse progression
of PD — something no current
treatment is proven to do.
This progress is set against the
backdrop of a new era of patient
power, with a seismic opportunity
for patients to partner with scientists
to influence research design and
outcomes. Whether volunteering for
traditional or virtual clinical trials,