A drug developer has received $468,000 from the Michael J. Fox Foundation for its Parkinson’s disease therapeutic.
QR Pharma is collaborating with Dr. Robert Nussbaum of the Division of Medical Genetics at the University of California, San Francisco and Dr. Jack T. Rogers of Massachusetts General Hospital, Genetics and Aging Research Unit on its therapeutic, Prosiphen, according to a company statement.
The funding was allocated to QR Pharma as part of the foundation’s Therapeutics Development Initiative for preclinical research for Parkinson’s disease.
QR Pharma CEO Maria Maccecchini is a serial entrepreneur and her company is based in Berwyn, Pennsylvania.
Prosiphen will be used in studies with mice at San Francisco to determine its effectiveness in mice in reversing gastrointestinal difficulties and motor abnormalities, symptoms similar to what are found in people with Parkinson’s disease. The tests will help establish preclinical efficacy as a basis for future testing in humans, a statement from QR Pharma said.
In addition to Parksinson’s disease, Prosiphen is one of two compounds QR Pharma is developing to treat Alzheimer’s disease.
Last year, Maccecchini received the Iris Newman award from the Alliance of Women Entrepreneurs.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
The Michael J. Fox Foundation has contributed $275 million to fund research to develop a cure and treat Parkinson’s disease. In February, it launched a partnering program to highlight encouraging research results in the foundation’s portfolio to attract funders to foster development to help drive research projects through the product pipeline.
