Parkinson's charity partners Biognosys on biomarker project
The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research (MJFF) has started working with Swiss biotech Biognosys on a project focusing on LRRK2, a biomarker that has emerged as a drug discovery target in the disease.
Alongside researchers involved in MJFF's LITE project for LRRK2 inhibitors, Zurich-based Biognosys will work on quantitative biomarker assays for the biomarker that could be used both to guide the development of therapies for Parkinson's and, potentially, to identify patients that could be treated with LRRK2-directed therapies.
According to the two partners, LRRK2 has emerged as one of the most compelling targets in Parkinson's research, with a growing number of drugs in development aimed at reducing excessive LRRK2 activity that is seen in the disease, but the lack of assays for the biomarker has been holding back progress.
At the moment, the LRRK2 inhibitor furthest along in clinical development is Denali Therapeutics' small-molecule candidate DNL151, which reached the middle stages of clinical development. The phase 2b LUMA trial of the Biogen-partnered therapy, also known as BIIB122, in early-stage Parkinson's is due to read out in the middle of this year, while a phase 2a study in LRRK2-mutated disease is ongoing.
Biogen bought into Denali's LRRK2 programme in a deal potentially worth more than $2.1 billion in 2020, but three years later it abandoned a phase 3 trial of the drug, called LIGHTHOUSE, in LRRK2-positive patients and amended the protocol of LUMA to include patients without the mutations.
At the time, Biogen said its decision was not taken due to any concerns about the safety or efficacy of BIIB122, but was the result of the long timeline for the LIGHTHOUSE study and "resource prioritisation."
Other companies working on LRRK2 include Neuron23, Oncodesign Precision Medicines, and Brenig Therapeutics, all of which have clinical-stage candidates in development.
Last year, South San Francisco-based Neuron23 raised $96.5 million in funding for the ongoing phase 2 NEULARK trial of its NEU-411 candidate in early Parkinson's patients with elevated LRRK2 activity, with topline results due in 2027. The trial relies on the use of genetic testing to identify eligible patients.
Dijon, France-based Oncodesign recently picked up nearly $7 million in funding from the MJFF for a phase 1b trial of OPM-201, which was partnered with Servier before it handed back rights to the project in 2024. The drug is directed at patients with a specific genetic variant of LRRK2 that causes a familial form of Parkinson's, and has already completed a phase 1a trial. The new study is due to start next year.
Boston start-up Brenig, meanwhile, recently presented interim data from an ongoing phase 1 clinical trial of BT-267 in healthy volunteers.
"Successful clinical development requires not only promising therapeutic approaches, but also reliable tools to measure whether those therapies are having their intended biological effect," said Oliver Rinner, senior vice president at Biognosys.
"By combining Biognosys' expertise in highly sensitive, quantitative proteomics with MJFF's collaborative LITE framework, we aim to accelerate the development of biomarkers that can meaningfully guide Parkinson's drug development and de-risk clinical trials."
Image by Annick Vanblaere via Pixabay
