- The Accelerating Medicines Partnership® in Parkinson’s Disease
and Related Disorders (AMP® PDRD) will expedite identification of
biomarkers to better differentiate Parkinson’s from diseases with
similar symptoms.
- Results could help avoid delays in diagnosis and lead to
personalized treatments for those living with Parkinson’s.
The Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH)
announces a new public-private partnership that aims to better
differentiate Parkinson’s disease from related neurodegenerative
disorders, such as multiple system atrophy, Lewy body dementia, and
progressive supranuclear palsy, to enable earlier diagnoses, more
timely interventions, and better outcomes.
The Accelerating Medicines Partnership® in Parkinson’s Disease
and Related Disorders (AMP® PDRD), managed by the FNIH, brings
together the resources and expertise of the National Institute of
Neurological Disorders and Stroke and the National Institute on
Aging at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA), The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s
Research, and stakeholders from the private sector, with a combined
commitment of approximately $21 million.
“Although significant progress has been made in Parkinson’s
research, there remains a need to deepen our understanding of how
this disease begins and progresses over a long period of time,”
said Julie Gerberding, MD, MPH, president and CEO of the FNIH. “By
combining resources and expertise, this collaborative partnership
promises to advance research more quickly and improve outcomes for
individuals and families living with Parkinson’s and similar
disorders.”
Due to increased life expectancy, Parkinson’s disease is a
growing health challenge, affecting an estimated one million
individuals in the U.S. and more than 8.5 million people worldwide.
Available treatments can manage symptoms, but currently Parkinson’s
disease has no cure.
The disease is characterized by tremors, muscle stiffness, slow
movement, problems with balance and coordination, and a shuffling
gait. People with Parkinson’s can also experience non-motor
symptoms, such as changes in mood, behavior, and cognitive
function. Some individuals develop a set of symptoms years or
decades before motor signs occur, including a particular sleep
disorder, constipation, and decreased sense of smell. Although the
root causes of Parkinson’s remain unknown, risk factors include
age, genetics, and exposure to environmental hazards.
Early diagnosis is crucial for initiating appropriate treatment
for Parkinson’s disease. Doctors have traditionally relied on a
patient’s medical history, neurological examinations, and imaging
tests to rule out other conditions with similar symptoms. A
definitive diagnosis can take several years after symptoms appear,
and the misdiagnosis rate has been estimated at 10-20%. More
recently, researchers developed a promising diagnostic test that
can detect abnormal amounts of a protein called alpha-synuclein, a
known biological characteristic of Parkinson’s disease, collected
through either a spinal tap or skin biopsy.
AMP PDRD seeks to identify and validate additional
biomarkers—particularly in more accessible tissues like blood or
saliva—that can accurately differentiate Parkinson’s from related
diseases, known as “Parkinsonism,” such as multiple system atrophy,
Lewy body dementia, and progressive supranuclear palsy. New
biomarkers to accurately diagnose Parkinson’s at an early stage can
enable appropriate treatment years before major neurological
disability.
Differentiating patients with Parkinson’s disease from patients
with Parkinson-like disorders using validated biomarkers will also
help to recruit the right participants in clinical trials for new
drugs, thereby increasing the success rate of the trials. In
addition, the project will generate and compare data from
individuals at various stages of Parkinson’s to uncover insights
into the onset and progression of the disease, leading to more
precise and effective treatments.
“The expansion of AMP PDRD brings together scientists from
industry, academia, and government to identify and validate
biomarkers that can be used to detect whether an intervention has
the desired effect when tested in people,” said Walter Koroshetz,
MD, director, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and
Stroke. “This will ultimately mean more quickly identifying which
treatments are more likely to have beneficial effects for persons
with Parkinson’s disease.”
AMP PDRD builds on an earlier project, the Accelerating
Medicines Partnership in Parkinson’s Disease (AMP PD), which
consolidated data from various studies and increased the number of
bio-samples for research to help advance the discovery and
development of disease-modifying treatments for Parkinson’s. A key
result was establishing the AMP PD Knowledge Platform, which hosts
genetic and other biological analysis data collected over time,
enabling biomarker identification. AMP PDRD will expand the
collected datasets to include a wider range of individuals
suffering from Parkinson’s and related disorders, identify new
biomarkers and targets for drug development, and improve data
analysis tools for classifying disease stages and subtypes more
precisely.
Todd Sherer, PhD, chief mission officer, The Michael J. Fox
Foundation, said of the partnership, “Data sharing at this scale
will accelerate the field's progress by improving drug trials and
fueling the clinical pipeline. The Michael J. Fox Foundation looks
forward to the results of bringing so many knowledge bases together
through this public-private consortium.”
The Accelerating Medicines Partnership in Parkinson’s Disease
and Related Disorders is supported by the National Institute of
Neurological Disorders and Stroke, the National Institute on Aging,
the FDA, Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s, C2N Diagnostics,
CurePSP, Denali, GSK, Sanofi, and The Michael J. Fox Foundation.
For an updated list of partners, see here. Read what the partners
are saying here.
AMP PDRD underscores the FNIH’s commitment to tackling
neurodegenerative disorders and follows the May launch of AMP
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), an FNIH-managed public-private
partnership targeting advancements in ALS diagnostics and
treatments.
About the Accelerating Medicines Partnership
Launched in 2014 and managed by the FNIH, the Accelerating
Medicines Partnership® (AMP®) program brings together the National
Institutes of Health, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, biomedical
and life science companies, nonprofits, patient-focused groups, and
other organizations to transform the current model for developing
new diagnostics and treatments. Using cutting-edge scientific
approaches and broad sharing of research data, all AMPs seek to
improve understanding of disease pathways, facilitate better
selection of targets for drug development, and streamline processes
for bringing new treatments to patients. AMP PDRD is the latest
initiative in a portfolio of AMP projects expediting discovery
around amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Alzheimer’s disease,
schizophrenia, common metabolic diseases, heart failure, autoimmune
and immune-mediated diseases, and rare diseases. To learn more
about AMP, visit fnih.org/AMP.
About the Foundation for the National Institutes of
Health
The Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH)
builds public-private partnerships that connect leading biomedical
scientists at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) with their
counterparts in life sciences companies, academia, patient
organizations, foundations, and regulatory agencies (including the
Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency).
Through team science, the FNIH solves complex health challenges and
accelerates breakthroughs for patients, regardless of who they are
or what health threats they face. The FNIH contributes to the
development of new therapies, diagnostics, and potential cures;
advances global health and equity in care; and celebrates and helps
train the next generations of scientists. Established by Congress
in 1990 to support the mission of the NIH, the FNIH is a
not-for-profit 501(c)(3) charitable organization. For more
information about the FNIH, please visit fnih.org.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240716642599/en/
Melanie Doupé Gaiser Ruder Finn, on behalf of the FNIH
212-593-6459 Melanie.Gaiser@RuderFinn.com