Eurostars grant awarded to PARMED consortium to develop innovative RNA therapy for Parkinson’s disease

PARMED, a world-class consortium comprised of leading experts from Neumirna Therapeutics (DK), Motac Neuroscience (FR), University of Bordeaux (FR), and the Center of RNA Medicine (CRM) at Aalborg University (DK), is proud to announce the receipt of the prestigious Eurostars grant (€1.65M) for their groundbreaking project aimed at developing disease-modifying RNA therapies for Parkinson’s Disease (PD).

Researchers involved in Bordeaux are Erwan Bezard and Benjamin Dehay (IMN)

With the Eurostars-project, PARMED is set to embark on a mission to expand treatment options for PD patients, by developing a first-in-class disease-modifying RNA therapy. This project seeks to significantly enhance the quality of life for individuals affected by PD by halting disease progression and, in turn, fortify the health and well-being of patients across Europe. By strategically bridging the gap between cutting-edge research and drug development, PARMED is poised to accelerate the go-to-market process of the world’s first disease-modifying therapy for PD.

RNA-based therapeutics have emerged as a promising modality for addressing neurological diseases, making them an ideal choice for PD drug development. Prior to the Eurostars project, Neumirna Therapeutics identified lead antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) that target PD-related pathways, developed together with CRM, Aalborg University and tested together with Motac Neuroscience. The Eurostars project will further develop and validate these ASOs as an efficacious, disease-modifying PD treatment.

“Successful execution of this project will propel PARMED from preclinical studies to first-in-class clinical studies in humans.” said grant Principal Investigator, Prof Janine Erler, CEO of Neumirna Therapeutics. “Our team is comprised of world-class researchers in discovery and development of RNA therapies for neurological disorders. We believe that RNA medicines have the potential to become game-changing for PD patients.”

The PARMED consortium is committed to pioneering innovative solutions for Parkinson’s Disease treatment and is grateful for the support and recognition from the Eurostars program. With this Eurostars grant, PARMED takes a significant step forward in the quest to transform the lives of PD patients and improve health outcomes across Europe.

About Eurostars

Eurostars is part of the European Partnership on Innovative SMEs. The partnership is co-funded by the European Union through Horizon Europe. The Danish and French participation in Eurostars is made possible by Innovation Fund Denmark and BPI France, respectively.