AstronauTx has received research funding from The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research to investigate whether improving restorative sleep could help slow processes associated with Parkinson’s disease. Parkinson’s UK is funding a separate, complementary study with University College London (UCL) that AstronauTx will support. The announcement did not disclose the funding amounts.
The Michael J. Fox Foundation-funded project will test AstronauTx compounds designed to enhance restorative sleep. Researchers will examine whether the approach can reduce the buildup of abnormal proteins associated with Parkinson’s disease, with a focus on the prodromal stage, when early signs appear before a diagnosis.
One such early indicator is REM sleep behavior disorder. AstronauTx hopes the preclinical work will help determine whether one of its compounds warrants further development as a treatment that could alter the course of the disease. The grant was awarded through the foundation’s Parkinson’s Disease Therapeutics Pipeline Program.
The Parkinson’s UK-funded project, led by Ian Harrison at UCL, will study whether increasing slow-wave sleep improves glymphatic flow, a process involved in clearing waste from the brain. Using a Parkinson’s disease mouse model, researchers will assess whether a sleep-enhancing compound helps clear alpha-synuclein, a protein linked to the disease.
Both projects remain preclinical research. Separately, AstronauTx is preparing its lead program, focused on Alzheimer’s disease and related neurological conditions, for clinical development in 2027.
KEY QUOTES:
“The studies supported through this award will generate important preclinical evidence to evaluate this therapeutic approach and help determine its potential to advance toward clinical development.”
Shalini Padmanabhan, Ph.D., Senior Vice President and Head of Translational Research at The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research
“By targeting the mechanisms that regulate restorative sleep, we aim to unlock a completely new approach to treating Parkinson’s disease and other neurological diseases at their earliest stages.”
Jane Rhodes, CEO of AstronauTx
