Parkinson’s UK and Parkinson’s Foundation partner up to speed up the search for new treatments
Over the next 3 years, the US-based Parkinson’s Foundation will invest a minimum of $3m (over £2.4m) into the Parkinson’s Virtual Biotech, our international drug discovery and development programme.
The money, in addition to our ongoing investment in the Parkinson’s Virtual Biotech, will fund groundbreaking research into the search for new treatments for Parkinson’s.
Parkinson’s UK has invested over £16m in Virtual Biotech projects since it was founded in 2017. Like other biotechs, it uses cutting edge biological and chemical research to come up with new treatments. But because it's driven by people with Parkinson’s, it takes a uniquely innovative approach to get results, faster.
Currently, the Parkinson’s Virtual Biotech is fast tracking 9 promising projects, including the potential of cannabidiol to treat psychosis in Parkinson’s, and whether a common anti-sickness drug could manage hallucinations.
In 2019, the Parkinson’s Foundation first supported the Parkinson’s Virtual Biotech with a grant. The 2 charities share a decade-long partnership driven by a shared mission to deliver better treatments for the global Parkinson’s community, focusing on the most pressing needs.
Dr Arthur Roach, Director of Research at Parkinson’s UK, said:
"Drug development is ultimately what will lead to new treatments, but it comes with high risk, high costs and long timelines. Our innovative approach takes methods from the private sector and venture capital financing and adapts them to the charitable context, allowing us to be agile and tactical in how we invest, monitor and keep projects moving.
"This is an exciting new phase for the Parkinson’s Virtual Biotech. We’ve been growing steadily and are starting to see the first successes from the early projects we’ve invested in over the last five years. But we’ve always known that there is much more to be done than we can manage on our own, and hoped that by championing this innovative approach, we could inspire others to collaborate with us in this next phase and create a truly international movement.
"Through this long term strategic partnership with The Parkinson’s Foundation, we will together be able to invest more funding into more projects, both new and existing. Together, we can deliver much needed new treatments for Parkinson’s in years, not decades."
John Lehr, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Parkinson’s Foundation, said:
"We are pleased to partner with Parkinson’s UK to further drug discovery development, as part of our newly established Venture Philanthropy Fund, that will help the international Parkinson’s community.
"This collaboration will help us better serve people living with Parkinson’s today while furthering the promise of a cure tomorrow."
Your donation could change lives. In years, not decades. Join the fight to bring the next breakthrough closer by donating to our pioneering Virtual Biotech.
The Parkinson’s Virtual Biotech is a groundbreaking global movement to deliver life-changing new treatments in years not decades.