| Parkinson’s News Updates |
| Seelos Awarded Fox Foundation Grant to Study SLS-004 Parkinson’s News Today Seelos Therapeutics has been awarded a grant from the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research to advance the development of its gene therapy candidate SLS-004 in people with Parkinson’s disease. SLS-004 aims to regulate the expression, or levels, of the SNCA gene, which provides instructions to produce alpha-synuclein, a key protein in the development of Parkinson’s disease. “The selection of SLS-004 to receive grant funding from The Michael J. Fox Foundation is a strong validation of our program and should significantly raise the profile of our program,” Raj Mehra, PhD, Seelos chairman and CEO, said in a press release. The buildup of abnormal (misfolded) alpha-synuclein can result in toxic aggregates inside nerve cells (neurons). These clumps, also called Lewy bodies, damage and eventually kill neurons in the brains of those with Parkinson’s. —————— Enrollment Complete in Phase 2 Trial of Possible Therapy NYX-458 Parkinson’s News Today Enrollment is now complete for a Phase 2 trial of NYX-458, Aptinyx’s investigational therapy to treat cognitive impairment in people with Parkinson’s disease. After a pause in enrollment due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the trial resumed enrolling in April 2021. Now, a total of 99 adults, ages 50 to 80, with mild cognitive impairment or mild dementia associated with Parkinson’s disease or dementia with Lewy bodies have been enrolled in the ongoing trial (NCT04148391). It primarily aims to evaluate NYX-458’s safety and tolerability, but will also assess the therapy’s potential cognitive benefits. Trial results are expected in the first quarter of 2023. “The completion of enrollment in our Phase 2 study of NYX-458 is a significant milestone for Aptinyx,” Andy Kidd, MD, president and CEO of Aptinyx, said in a press release. —————— First Patient Dosed in Phase 3 Trial of Buntanetap for Early Parkinson’s Parkinson’s News Today The first patient has been dosed in a clinical trial testing Annovis Bio’s buntanetap as an oral therapy for early-stage Parkinson’s disease, the company announced. The Phase 3 clinical trial (NCT05357989) got started shortly after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave the company the green light to start recruiting up to 450 patients with idiopathic (of unknown cause) Parkinson’s disease. Recruitment is ongoing at three locations in the U.S. The trial’s launch was grounded on positive findings from a placebo-controlled Phase 2a clinical trial (NCT04524351) that included patients with Parkinson’s and with Alzheimer’s, another neurodegenerative disease for which the therapy is being tested. There, buntanetap was found to be safe when given once daily for 25 days at different doses. It also was better than the placebo at improving cognitive and motor skills, including speed of movement and coordination. |