Ventyx Biosciences’ lead program, an oral small molecule inhibitor of NLRP3, has encouraging clinical data from separate mid-stage tests in cardiovascular disease and Parkinson’s disease. Eli Lilly said Ventyx’s pipeline has potential applications in cardiometabolic health, neurodegeneration, and autoimmunity.
In a placebo-controlled mid-stage study, Ventyx Biosciences’ oral NLRP3 inhibitor led to rapid and sustained reductions in levels of a protein that’s an indicator of cardiovascular disease risk. The brain-penetrating properties of this once-daily pill also have potential applications addressing inflammation that drives neurodegenerative disorders.
Alan Murray on improving access for medical transportation.
UCSF researcher Maria Shcherbakova highlighted how adaptive deep brain stimulation is improving Parkinson’s care by automatically adjusting brain implants in real time to better control symptoms.
Much of today’s care infrastructure was built for a different era, when medicine focused on acute illnesses and short-term fixes. But neurodegenerative diseases don’t follow that script, and neither can we. We have the tools to build something better: care that stays with people, adapts to their needs, and helps them live not just longer, but better.
Novartis, which already has experience with RNA interference therapies, is now turning to this modality as a potential way to treat Parkinson’s disease. The pharmaceutical giant is licensing rights to an Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals RNAi therapy designed to inhibit production of alpha synuclein, a protein associated with Parkinson’s progression.
MeiraGTx’s gene therapy for Parkinson’s disease will enter Phase 3 testing under a new joint venture the biotech is forming with Hologen, a generative AI startup. The joint venture has up to $230 million in committed capital; MeiraGTx gets additional cash for its pipeline.
Across the nation, state-based health insurance exchanges are searching for ways to better serve their communities while making enrollment easier, more personal, and more accessible for everyone.
Supernus Pharmaceuticals’ Onapgo provides a continuous infusion of apomorphine to manage “off” periods experienced by Parkinson’s disease patients. Approval of Onapgo comes after the FDA twice turned back applications for the drug/device combination product.
Cala Health closed a $50 million funding round. The Silicon Valley-based company sells an FDA-cleared wearable device that temporarily relieves hand tremors in people with essential tremor and Parkinson’s disease.
In addition to meeting the main safety and tolerability goal, MeiraGTx Holdings’ gene therapy for Parkinson's disease also showed signs of efficacy. The one-time treatment is intended to reprogram dysfunctional brain circuits.
Booster Therapeutics’ small molecules activate the 20S proteasome, a component of cells that gets rid of misfolded proteins. Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s are potential disease targets for the startup, which launched with $15 million in seed financing.
In a landscape where complexity has long been the norm, the power of one lies not just in unification, but in intelligence and automation.
The bi-partisan passage during an election year of the End Parkinson’s Act shows that addressing a healthcare crisis, especially in our senior population, may be one of the few remaining issues that transcend party lines.
Routine NM-MRI for individuals at risk of Parkinson's could provide a means of identifying the disease before symptoms emerge.
Cerevel Therapeutics drug tavapadon met the main and secondary goals of a pivotal Parkinson’s disease clinical trial. That drug and others will join the neuroscience portfolio of AbbVie, which is in the process of acquiring Cerevel.
Merck’s acquisition of Caraway Therapeutics adds programs for genetically defined neurodegenerative diseases. One of those programs addresses a target that was the focus of a different startup purchased by Merck in 2019.
A Bayer cell therapy for Parkinson’s disease has met primary and secondary goals of its first test in humans, and the pharmaceutical giant is now planning for a larger Phase 2 clinical trial expected to begin enrollment in the first half of next year.