The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research (MJFF)
and the Tau Consortium today announce a funding partnership to accelerate
development of novel positron emission tomography (PET) imaging tracers for the
detection of the alpha-synuclein and tau proteins in the living brain.
Several neurodegenerative diseases — Parkinson's disease, Lewy
body dementia, multiple system atrophy, progressive supranuclear palsy and
frontotemporal dementia, among others — involve the aggregation of
alpha-synuclein and/or tau. Tools to detect the location and abundance of these
proteins would improve clinical care and speed drug development by allowing
earlier and more definitive diagnosis, more precise trial subject selection,
and more efficient and conclusive therapeutic impact assessment.
"The ability to monitor disease, potentially even before
symptom onset, would revolutionize the patient care experience and the pace of
drug development," said MJFF CEO Todd Sherer, PhD. "This
partnership with the Tau Consortium will bring us closer to that goal."
Patrick Brannelly, Program Director of the Tau Consortium, said,
"The process of developing a new PET tracer is challenging, complex and
iterative. It makes sense for nonprofits and industry to pool their resources
in pursuit of success."
Under this new partnership, the Tau Consortium and MJFF will
convene and co-fund a team of leading scientists who will closely coordinate
their development of compounds that may bind to alpha-synuclein or tau. Gil
Rabinovici, MD, of the University of California, San Francisco, will
direct the initiative. The inaugural grantees are Chester Mathis, PhD,
Director of the University of Pittsburgh PET Facility, and Neil
Vasdev, PhD, Co-founder of MedChem Imaging LLC.
"It's an honor to work alongside these outstanding
investigators and as the director of such an important initiative," said
Dr. Rabinovici. "Presently, these protein aggregates can be measured only
at autopsy. Our field needs better tools to enable earlier intervention with
potentially disease-modifying treatments."
PET tracers to evaluate protein load in the living brain would
allow clinicians and researchers to diagnose people in prodromal or early
disease stage, leading care decisions and earlier intervention with potentially
disease-modifying treatments. A hypothesis for why some drugs in testing fail
is that study participants are too advanced in the disease; an imaging tracer
would allow testing in earlier-stage volunteers. Additionally, data from PET
tracers would allow researchers to evaluate the biological impact of their
candidate drugs.
Given the importance of this technology, MJFF and the Tau
Consortium have invested significantly in this area of research. For example,
The Michael J. Fox Foundation is supporting other projects pursuing an
alpha-synuclein PET tracer and last year announced a $2M prize to the
first group to develop a viable selective tracer and agree to make the tool
available broadly.
About The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research
As the world's largest nonprofit funder of Parkinson's research,
The Michael J. Fox Foundation is dedicated to accelerating a cure for
Parkinson's disease and improved therapies for those living with the condition
today. The Foundation pursues its goals through an aggressively funded, highly
targeted research program coupled with active global engagement of scientists,
Parkinson's patients, business leaders, clinical trial participants, donors and
volunteers. In addition to funding more than $700 million in research
to date, the Foundation has fundamentally altered the trajectory of progress
toward a cure. Operating at the hub of worldwide Parkinson's research, the
Foundation forges groundbreaking collaborations with industry leaders, academic
scientists and government research funders; increases the flow of participants
into Parkinson's disease clinical trials with its online tool, Fox Trial
Finder; promotes Parkinson's awareness through high-profile advocacy, events
and outreach; and coordinates the grassroots involvement of thousands of Team
Fox members around the world. For more information, visit www.michaeljfox.org.
About the Tau Consortium
The Tau Consortium is an innovative medical research program
that is operated under the auspices of the Rainwater Charitable Foundation. The
Consortium commissions world-class basic research and drug discovery to treat
and prevent progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) and other tauopathies. The Tau
Consortium acts with urgency and with patients in mind. It ensures that its
members work collaboratively and engage with partners who can accelerate their
progress. Since founding the Tau Consortium in 2009, the Rainwater Charitable
Foundation has committed nearly $100 million to the program. There
are currently five treatments in early stage human trials for PSP as a result
of the Rainwater family's funding. Please visit http://tauconsortium.org for
more information.
SOURCE The Michael J. Fox
Foundation
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