Biopharmaceutical company Lario Therapeutics announced on Thursday that it has received a total of USD2.4m in grant funding from The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research (MJFF) and Wellcome to support the continued expansion of its neuronal calcium channel drug discovery platform.

This funding recognises Lario's work on selective small-molecule inhibitors of voltage-gated neuronal calcium channels. With the proceeds of these awards, Lario is expanding its work in Parkinson's disease and exploring an additional high-priority indication: post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The USD1.5m grant from MJFF supports the progression of Lario's work on CaV1.3-linked Parkinson's disease biology, a target with strong mechanistic relevance to disease progression. CaV1.3 has recently been highlighted by MJFF as one of the most promising drug targets through its Targets to Therapies initiative, an expert-led programme designed to prioritise and de-risk disease-modifying targets in Parkinson's disease.

Lario has also received a USD900k (GBP700k) grant from Wellcome to further validate CaV2.3 as a target in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), building on recent large-scale human genetics research linking variation in the gene encoding CaV2.3 (CACNA1E) to increased risk of the condition. This award complements Lario's previously announced USD6m grant by MJFF in 2024, supporting preclinical work on CaV2.3 as a potential disease-modifying approach for Parkinson's disease, and to explore the therapeutic potential of selective CaV2.3 inhibition across a range of central nervous system disorders.