Alchemab Therapeutics, an antibody discovery company identifying targets through individuals resilient to disease, has been awarded a grant of USD $595,000 by The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF) to support its Parkinson’s disease programme.
The grant was issued following Alchemab’s identification of antibodies that target prostaglandin biology in Parkinson’s disease — which offers a unique approach to treatment if proven to be efficacious.
Alchemab is currently researching the therapeutic effects of its resilient patient-derived antibody in Parkinson’s disease.
The Parkinson's Disease Therapeutics Pipeline Programme
The grant was awarded through MJFF’s Parkinson’s Disease Therapeutics Pipeline Programme, which aims to expedite the testing of promising therapeutic developments that address unmet needs in people with Parkinson’s.
The programme is designed to fund therapeutic development with a clear focus to prevent, stop, or delay disease progression; or to reduce the challenges of daily symptoms.
Identifying novel disease targets through patient resilience
Alchemab’s antibodies were discovered using its platform, which uses advanced proteomics, bioinformatics and machine learning to analyse patient samples and find signals associated with disease resilience.
In addition, it is applying its computation resources to mine large PD datasets like the Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI) to identify novel targets.
CEO of Alchemab, Young Kwon said: “We are delighted to be working with The Michael J. Fox Foundation whose goals we share of fostering innovative Parkinson’s disease research, enhancing understanding of the disease and developing targeted therapies. This programme is another example of the power of a patient-led, unbiased approach to target and therapeutics discovery.”
