Lario Therapeutics has agreed to a $6 million grant from the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's research

Lario Therapeutics has agreed to a $6 million grant from the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's research

Lario Therapeutics (“Lario” or “The Company”), a biopharmaceutical company developing first-in-class precision medicines for epileptic and neurological disorders Parkinson's Research (MJFF). The program works in collaboration with the Oxford Parkinson's Disease Center, which will also provide key science as part of the grant.

The grant will be used to fund Lario's preclinical program investigating selective CAV2.3 calcium channel inhibition as a novel and disease-modifying approach to the treatment of Parkinson's disease. There is extensive literature linking calcium channels to the pathology of the disease, and it has been demonstrated in preclinical experimental studies that deletion of CAV2.3 may have a protective effect against PD progression. Lario is collaborating with Professor Richard Wade-Martins and the Oxford Parkinson's Disease Center (OPDC) for the study to evaluate the Lari compounds in cutting-edge patient-derived compounds.

Parkinson's disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that occurs in brain cells that make dopamine, which coordinates the movement to stop working or die. Symptoms are lifelong and worsen over time, including motor dysfunction such as tremors, slowness, stiffness, walking and balance problems, and problems such as depression and memory problems. It is estimated that more than 10 million people worldwide are living with Parkinson's disease without a current cure.

Tom Otis, Ph.D., Professor of Neuroscience UCL and Chief Scientific Officer of Lario Therapeutics, said:"We thank MJFF for their funding support for Lario's efforts to test and develop a potential new therapy to prevent the loss of neurons that causes Parkinson's disease. If our research is successful, this will be an important new treatment option for patients."

"This significant funding from the Michael J. Fox Foundation will support the work of our therapeutic pipeline and the work we have accomplished to date in advancing research in this area. We would like to thank the MJFF team for their support."added Henning Steinhagen, Ph.D., co-founder and CEO of Lario Therapeutics.“This grant will help fuel our ambition to rapidly advance our CAV2.3 program into the clinic to provide a new and effective treatment option for people with Parkinson's disease.”

“MJFF is dedicated to funding innovative research, like the work at Lario Therapeutics, to develop a pipeline of novel therapies that can improve the lives of people with Parkinson's disease.”said Gaia Skibinski, Ph.D., director of research programs at MJFF.“We look forward to seeing the results of Lario’s research on CAV2.3 as a novel disease-modifying approach to Parkinson’s.”

Richard Wade-Martins, MA, DPHIL, Professor of Molecular Neuroscience, University of Oxford, and Director of the Oxford Parkinson's Disease Center, said:"I am very pleased to be working with the team at Lario Therapeutics. Awarding MJFF funding is a testament to the impact this study aims to bring to patients. Our research center understands the development of Parkinson's with the ultimate goal of targeting the molecular mechanisms of the disease to prevent disease onset or delay progression. We see great potential in the disease CAV2.3 program and are very pleased to work together to study the neural models of patients with stem cells as part of the research. “

For more information on Lario Therapeutics' pipeline, please contact us

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