Research
BRINGING MORE THERAPIES
TO MORE PEOPLE
by MAGGIE KUHL
THERE IS UNPRECEDENTED MOMENTUM
in Parkinson’s research. In the last five years
alone, nine new drugs and three devices have
been approved to treat Parkinson’s disease (PD).
Our strategy invests in therapeutic potential from
all angles and works to get promising but risky
projects off the ground and unite partners to
overcome challenges. of PD. Therapies targeting the LRRK2 protein are
moving into and through human testing after we
organized a group of competing pharmaceutical
companies to explore the safety of this approach.
Treatments against other proteins — alpha-
synuclein and GBA — are also in testing after
MJFF support invigorated research and drug
development around these targets.
Late last year, the first Michael J. Fox Foundation
(MJFF)-funded Parkinson’s therapy was approved
by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. MJFF
supported early trials of the drug Inbrija, an
inhaled levodopa for treatment of “off” episodes,
a common symptom without many treatment
options. MJFF funding is helping researchers understand
the groups of Parkinson’s patients who may
benefit from these treatments. Though these
therapies were initially developed for people
with genetic mutations, it’s possible they may
prove effective for a wider population. Last year,
MJFF grantees found that LRRK2 is overactive
in patients without a LRRK2 mutation, meaning
drugs targeting this protein could be useful
to more people. We are now funding research
following-up on those findings as well as exploring
GBA activity in patients without a mutation in the
GBA gene.
MJFF continues to fund new therapies to ease
symptoms and studies to understand how to
improve available treatments. For example, our
Foundation is supporting a registry of people who
consider or undergo deep brain stimulation for
more information on best practices around that
surgical option.
We are committed to building on this progress
and bringing the best treatments to people with
Parkinson’s.
Treating symptoms is important, but we are also
focused on ways to slow or stop the progression
4
The Fox Focus