Researchers from the University of Dundee will lead a new initiative in collaboration with the Michael J. Fox Foundation in the battle against Parkinson’s disease.

The new initiative will look to develop therapeutic strategies targeting LRRK2, which is the gene that makes protein and helps control different activities inside cells.

Mutations of the LRRK2 gene were first linked to Parkinson’s 20 years ago, and it is now understood to be the most common cause of inherited Parkinson’s.

The programme, called the LRRK2 Investigative Therapeutics Exchange (LITE), will provide tens of millions of dollars of grant support and focuses on bridging basic science advances to industry-led drug development.

LITE will be led by Professor Dario Alessi, who is a global leader in the study of kinases which is a class of cellular proteins that includes LRRK2.

He runs a lab focused on researching it at the University of Dundee, and directs the Division of Signal Transduction Therapy – a collaboration between leading researchers and global pharmaceutical companies.

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Professor Alessi said: “LRRK2 presents key opportunities to the field, both for better understanding Parkinson’s and for treating it. 

“The LITE initiative gives us a chance to clarify key points of understanding and use that knowledge to inform drug development.”

Dr Esther Sammler, a neurologist at the University of Dundee, is the co-principal investigator and will focus on identifying biomarkers and testing therapies in clinal trials, while Dr Paul Davies and Dr Francesca Tonelli – also from the same university, will join them as part of the leadership group of the study.

Shalini Padmanabhan PHD is MJFF’s head of translational research and said: “We’re building a translational research engine that diversifies ways to target LRRK2, improving confidence and clarity in the most promising approaches to targeting the pathway. 

“This program will make therapeutic development faster and more informed while ‘de-risking’ industry investment.”

Several Parkinson’s drugs targeting LRRK2 are currently in clinical trials, and several other strategies to target LRRK2 have been identified and await further evaluation.

The LITE program will focus both on supporting therapeutic approaches as well as identifying LRRK2-specific biomarkers, which could measure the effect of potential LRRK2-based treatments.

“By building a cohesive, collaborative approach to discovery and development, LITE expedites efforts to leverage the enormous potential of LRRK2-targeted therapies,” said Todd Sherer, PhD, chief mission officer at MJFF.

“Through the initiative, we see the potential for transformative advances in understanding Parkinson’s, intervening in the disease process and, we hope, stopping Parkinson’s disease in its tracks.”

Back to the Future actor Mr Fox was first diagnosed with the disease in 1991, and set up the foundation in 2000 to fund research.