EXTON, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Melior Discovery, Inc. announced today that it has been awarded a research grant by The Michael J. Fox Foundation for a potential drug repositioning opportunity in Parkinson’s disease (PD).
Melior Discovery has developed world-class drug repositioning expertise. The company will apply this capability to the evaluation of a specific drug repositioning opportunity in PD. “We look forward to our partnership with The Michael J. Fox Foundation. We are inspired by their commitment to fight this devastating disease,” said Andrew Reaume, PhD, CEO, Melior Discovery.
The funding will allow Melior to test the use of a drug currently used in other disease areas for its effects in preclinical models of Parkinson’s disease. Dr. John Ciallella and Dr. John Gruner from Melior have provided evidence to suggest that the drug may work in concert with an existing therapy to help augment and potentially improve those treatments. If successful, Melior will evaluate the drug’s therapeutic potential in Parkinson’s patients.
“The development of new drugs is expensive and time-consuming, and patients are left hanging in the balance,” said Kuldip Dave, PhD, associate director of research programs at MJFF. “In fall 2010, MJFF launched our inaugural repositioning RFA to address these realities, and to attempt to reduce the time and costs involved in finding drugs that could help people living with Parkinson’s.”
About Melior Discovery, Inc.
Melior Discovery is leading the transformation of pharmaceutical drug repositioning with its unique theraTRACE® platform of multiplexed in vivo models. Melior is using this capability to build an internal pipeline of development candidates as well as partnering with pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical companies to expand their drug development pipelines by using the theraTRACE® platform, and individual animal models, in conjunction with the Company’s in-depth in vivo pharmacology expertise.
For more information, visit: www.meliordiscovery.com.
About The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.
As the world’s largest private funder of Parkinson’s research, The Michael J. Fox Foundation is dedicated to accelerating a cure for Parkinson’s disease and improved therapies for those living with the condition today. The Foundation pursues its goals through an aggressively funded, highly targeted research program coupled with active global engagement of scientists, Parkinson’s patients, business leaders, clinical trial participants, donors and volunteers. In addition to funding over $250 million in research to date, the Foundation has fundamentally altered the trajectory of progress toward a cure. Operating at the hub of worldwide Parkinson’s research, the Foundation forges groundbreaking collaborations with industry leaders, academic scientists and government research funders; increases Parkinson’s awareness through high-profile advocacy, events and outreach; and coordinates the grassroots involvement of thousands of Team Fox members around the world.
For more information, visit: www.michaeljfox.org; www.facebook.com/michaeljfoxfoundation.