Selonterra, Inc., a biotechnology company developing transformative therapies for neurodegenerative disorders announces a grant award of US$2,500,000 from The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.
SAN MATEO, Calif., March 8, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Selonterra, Inc. (www.selonterra.com), a biotechnology company developing transformative therapies for neurodegenerative disorders announces a grant award of US$2,500,000 from The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF).
Selonterra focuses on neurodegenerative disorders with strong genetic links. Selonterra’s team discovered that DNA changes associated with key genetic determinants in Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease control the expression of genes in their chromosomal vicinity. The latter genes are the true mediators of these diseases and offer novel, unexploited targets for therapy development. Shared common pathways in these neurodegenerative disorders allow us to develop small molecules with the potential to profoundly change Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease therapies.
Funding from The Michael J. Fox Foundation enables Selonterra to link novel targets to clinical dysfunctions in Parkinson’s disease and to optimize our small molecules towards clinical candidates.
“We are immensely grateful to receive this funding from The Michael J. Fox Foundation to support these completely unexploited approaches with the potential of a meaningful impact on patients with Parkinson’s disease,” said Roman Urfer, PhD, Founder and CEO of Selonterra.
“The contribution of genetics to Parkinson’s disease is undisputed,” said Anne Urfer-Buchwalder, PhD, Founder and President of Selonterra. “In contrast to an involvement of the proteins encoded by these genetic variants, our focus on the DNA sequence and the genes that these DNA variants control offers fundamentally different therapeutic opportunities.”
“MJFF greatly values research that takes fresh looks at the biological underpinnings of Parkinson’s disease and leverages that insight for new treatment ideas. We are proud to support the work of researchers like the team at Selonterra as they investigate new ways to fulfill the unmet needs of people with Parkinson’s,” said Brian Fiske, PhD, Co-Chief Scientific Officer, MJFF.
About Selonterra, Inc.
Selonterra, Inc. (www.selonterra.com) pursues transformative approaches to the development of therapies of neurodegenerative disorders, including Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease. We harness human genetics, molecular pathway analysis and gene regulatory networks to identify proprietary disease-causing mechanisms and molecular targets, and exploit these to discover effective therapeutics. Selonterra’s founders and advisors are scientists and executives with decades of biotech and pharma experience complemented by a global network of collaborator companies.
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Keywords: Parkinson’s Disease; Alzheimer’s Disease; Gene Regulatory Networks; Neurodegenerative Disorders; Human Genetics
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SOURCE Selonterra, Inc.
