€7 million awarded for Parkinson’s research through Innovative Medicines Initiative – it’s time we took a look at mitochondrial dysfunction and its link with Parkinson’s.
Here, PD-MitoQUANT is an Innovative Medicines Initiative research project that will improve our understanding of Parkinson’s through the deeper research of mitochondrial dysfunction, so that better treatments can be developed in the future.
Battling Parkinson’s
New, more effective treatments are urgently required for the more than one million people living with Parkinson’s in Europe today.
While there are therapies available for the condition, they do not improve all symptoms, nor do they slow or prevent disease progression over time, and long-term treatment is associated with adverse side effects.
The Innovative Medicines Initiative and researching mitochondrial dysfunction
The project will run for 3 years, starting from 01 February 2019, receiving 4.5 million euro in funding from the EU’s Horizon 2020 programme and 2.46 million euro in-kind from European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) members and Parkinson’s UK.
Researchers are already aware that neurodegenerative diseases, like Parkinson’s, damage cells in our brain. PD-MitoQUANT focuses on how mitochondria, the ‘powerhouses’ of the cell, contribute to cell death and neurodegeneration when they malfunction.
There is growing evidence that mitochondrial dysfunction is involved in Parkinson’s, but no effective treatments have been developed based on this knowledge.
Looking at the powerhouse of the cell
PD-MitoQUANT will deepen our understanding of precisely how mitochondrial dysfunction in Parkinson’s, and develop improved tools for the early stages of drug development so pharmaceutical companies can develop better treatments in the future.
PD-MitoQUANT Coordinator, Prof. Jochen Prehn, RCSI said: “This project will join forces with top scientists in academia and industry to bring a fresh look on how we identify and test novel drugs for the treatment of this devastating movement disorder.”
The project has been announced to coincide with Brain Awareness Week in Ireland which takes place from 11-17 March 2019. loveyourbrain.ie #LoveYourBrain2019
About PD-MitoQUANT www.pdmitoquant.eu
PD-MitoQUANT has received funding from the Innovative Medicines Initiative (www.imi.europa.eu) 2 Joint Undertaking under grant agreement No 821522.
This Joint Undertaking receives support from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme and EFPIA and Parkinson’s UK.
