Octave Bioscience – a leading precision care company that delivers a new standard for managing multiple sclerosis and other neurodegenerative diseases – recently announced that it has been awarded a $10 million grant from The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF).
This grant will be used to discover, develop, and validate a custom protein biomarker panel to measure Parkinson’s disease activity and progression in the clinic, helping to address a major unmet need facing the Parkinson’s community. And a multiplexed biomarker assay panel for Parkinson’s could further accelerate research and development of new therapies and provide a tool for better monitoring and management of the disease.
Octave was chosen to receive this grant as a result of the company’s track record in biomarker research and its successful commercialization of a multiplexed custom biomarker assay panel for multiple sclerosis.
The MJFF is focused on finding a cure for Parkinson’s disease through an aggressively funded research agenda and ensuring the development of improved therapies for those living with Parkinson’s today. And the organization is uniquely positioned to speed breakthroughs by providing scientists with funding, tools, and collaborative partnerships and facilitating engagement in an industry-wide consortium dedicated to advancing research for Parkinson’s.
Octave will utilize MJFF’s robust data resources, including The MJFF Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI), a longitudinal, observational, multi-center study assessing the progression of clinical features, imaging outcomes, biologic and genetic markers, and digital outcomes of disease across all stages of Parkinson’s, from prodromal to moderate disease. And using PPMI, MJFF recently announced groundbreaking research that it had validated a biological diagnostic test to objectively and reliably detect alpha-synuclein protein, a hallmark of Parkinson’s disease.
Octave’s Precision Care Solution offers a quantitative and objective measurement system to provide clinically actionable insights in neurodegenerative diseases, starting with multiple sclerosis. And the company’s Precision Care Solution is currently in use in over 50 clinics across the United States. It allows people living with multiple sclerosis and their clinicians to better manage a highly complex disease. Octave integrates blood biomarkers, enhanced imaging capabilities, and clinical insights for the most comprehensive view of the patient. These insights offer biological and contextual metrics that bring scientific clarity to neurodegenerative disease, enabling informed care and shared decision-making and improving patient outcomes.
KEY QUOTES:
“MJFF is at the forefront of scientific research, and we look forward to building on their extraordinary insights as well as their deep knowledge of the disease and its pathophysiology to create the industry’s first validated multiplexed biomarker assay panel for Parkinson’s. This project is incredibly meaningful to us as it further extends our mission to build precision care solutions that transform the lives of people living with high cost, complex, and debilitating neurodegenerative conditions. We’re excited to apply our experience and learnings from multiple sclerosis to Parkinson’s and help change the treatment paradigm for people living with this disease.”
— William Hagstrom, Octave’s Founder and Chief Executive Officer
“The Parkinson’s community has an unmet need for deeper, objective, and more precise insights that are based on the individual patient’s biology. Biomarker testing is a promising development in identifying best responders to certain treatments, evaluating treatment impact, and tracking disease progression – all things that would improve disease management and patient outcomes. This precision approach enhances patient care and enables a holistic view of their condition.”
— Mark Frasier, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer of The Michael J. Fox Foundation
“Building on Octave’s progress in multiple sclerosis, we are thrilled to work with MJFF to build a precision care solution for Parkinson’s. Our goal is to create a powerful biomarker tool that addresses a variety of applications ranging from disease activity and progression, disease staging and subtyping, as well as disease modifying treatment development and monitoring. We are humbled by the opportunity to work with MJFF and lead this important scientific research and development project that could have a profound impact for the industry, and most importantly, for those living with Parkinson’s.”
— Jim Eubanks, PhD, Octave’s National Director of Medical Affairs and the principal investigator of the project
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