The Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research awards grant to Grifols for pioneering study

Grifols has received funding from The Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF) to identify plasma-based biomarkers that could help create diagnostic tools and disease-modifying therapies.

Grifols, a global healthcare company that produces plasma-derived medicines and diagnostics, has announced this funding aims to determine the biological signals that indicate a person’s likelihood of developing Parkinson’s disease (PD) prior to the onset of symptoms. Clinical diagnosis of the debilitating condition often comes too late for any meaningful treatment, thus early detection biomarkers give the best opportunity to develop therapeutics that could halt, or even reverse, the disease.The $21 million grant will fund the initiative, termed ‘Chronos-PD’ – a pilot study to analyse Grifols’ extensive repository of PD plasma samples for a period of 10 years. The company’s use of AI and integrative analysis of multiomics and real-world data will track how distinct plasma proteins evolve over time in individuals with PD. The hope is to establish an early-warning system for emergence of the condition, ultimately for improved treatment options.

PD affects nearly one million people in the US and more than 10 million people worldwide, and is the second most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer’s disease. Despite many years of research and treatment development, understanding of the disease remains limited, and it is often too late to slow progression or reverse the damage following a diagnosis.

Commenting on the programme funding, Dr Jörg Schüttrumpf, Grifols Chief Scientific Innovation Officer, explained that “Going back in time to search for the earliest signs of PD, even before symptoms appear, has potential to revolutionise PD management. The hope is to accelerate and ultimately develop new diagnostics and disease-modifying therapeutics that could mitigate or even prevent the condition from manifesting itself.”

Given the limited progress in meaningful management of PD, Shalini Padmanabhan, Senior Vice President of Translational Research at MJFF, revealed the foundation’s strategy for making headway to be funding diverse and innovative approaches. “Identifying reliable biomarkers for Parkinson’s disease is essential to unlocking earlier diagnosis and more effective treatments. Grifols’ research on a plasma-based biomarker to detect PD at its earliest stage – before progression begins – aims to helps us understand the biology of individuals who may be at risk and paves the way for transformative breakthroughs in care and prevention,” she said.