7 May 2018 - - Wilmington, Massachusetts-based early-stage contract research company Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE: CRL) has extended its long-standing collaboration with The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research (MJFF), an organisation working to support the diagnosis and treatment of Parkinson's disease (PD), the company said.
Since 2011, Charles River and MJFF have worked together to accelerate the discovery of therapies for PD. This latest extension includes grants from MJFF to support the in vivo phenotyping of an α-synuclein knockout model and an α-synuclein A53T knockin model, and establishment and validation of a pre-clinical model to test LRRK2 kinase inhibitors.
With MJFF support, Charles River has launched a new project, focused on in vivo phenotyping of an α-synuclein knockout model and an α-synuclein A53T knockin model.
Over the next two years, Charles River will develop and provide a baseline phenotype of these models, creating invaluable tools to drive discovery programs aimed at bringing novel PD therapies to the clinic.
Additionally, Charles River and MJFF have renewed a longstanding project to continue advancing efforts to test novel small molecule LRRK2 kinase inhibitors. The inhibition of the kinase LRRK2, which in humans has been genetically linked to development of PD, is a promising novel therapeutic strategy.
The goal is to determine optimal dosing strategies to achieve efficacy with LRRK2 inhibitors, while avoiding the lung alterations that have been reported in previous research.
MJFF is dedicated to accelerating a cure for Parkinson's disease and improved therapies for those living with the condition through an aggressively funded, highly targeted research program coupled with active global engagement of scientists, Parkinson's patients, business leaders, clinical trial participants, donors and volunteers.
The organization has funded more than USD 800m in research to date; forges groundbreaking collaborations with industry leaders, academic scientists, and government research funders; increases the flow of participants into Parkinson's disease clinical trials with its online tool; promotes Parkinson's awareness through high-profile advocacy, events and outreach; and coordinates the grassroots involvement of thousands of Team Fox members around the world.
Charles River provides essential products and services to help pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, government agencies, and academic institutions around the globe accelerate their research and drug development efforts.