Disease Focus: Parkinson's Disease


CRISPR/dCas9 mutant targeting SNCA promoter for downregulation of alpha-synuclein expression as a novel therapeutic approach for Parkinson’s disease

Research Objective Discovery of a novel therapeutic candidate for Parkinson’s disease which modifies gene expression using human stem cell-derived neurons to halt the neurodegenerative disease process. Impact Stopping the neurodegenerative process of Parkinson’s disease is a critical unmet medical need. Our approach is based on novel gene engineering technology that modifies expression of key target […]

Autologous cell therapy for Parkinson’s disease using iPSC-derived DA neurons

Research Objective Autologous human dopaminergic neurons derived from patient-specific induced pluripotent stem cells Impact Parkinson's disease Major Proposed Activities Characterize differentiation from all 10 patient cell lines Characterize functionality of patient neurons matured in vitro Immunogenicity assessment Cryopreservation feasibility testing Investigate dose response in vivo Detect dopamine release in vivo Thousands of Californians suffer from […]

A new phenotypic screening platform that identifies biologically-relevant targets and lead compounds for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease

Research Objective Demonstrate that our HitFinder™ library can be screened for phenotypic changes in A53T-IPSC-derived dopaminergic neurons and use a secondary handle to identify the targets responsible. Impact This technology combines phenotypic screening and target-ID eliminating the need to bias assays and/or screening libraries permitting application directly in iPSC-derived cells. Major Proposed Activities Prepare screening […]

A high quality, accessible cell therapy for Parkinson’s Disease produced in a scalable bioreactor system for 3D cell expansion and differentiation

Translational Candidate Human pluripotent stem cell expanded and differentiated dopaminergic precursor cells to treat Parkinson’s Disease at high quantity and high quality Area of Impact This candidate uses a 3D cell culture technology that addresses the manufacturing bottleneck and creates a high-quality scalable cell therapy. Mechanism of Action Dopamine producing cells are implanted into the […]

Development of Autologous Cell Replacement Therapy for Parkinson’s Disease: Path to Personalized Treatment

Translational Candidate autologous iPSC-derived dopaminergic progenitor cells Area of Impact Parkinson's Disease Mechanism of Action Autologous iPSC-derived dopaminergic progenitor cells represent a promising strategy to replace the nigrostriatal cells which are lost in Parkinson's Disease (PD). While approaches using fetal tissue / allogeneic stem cells show great promise, they are not sufficiently personalized to provide […]

Phase 1/2a Dose Escalation Study of ANPD001 in Sporadic Parkinson Disease

Therapeutic Candidate or Device Autologous stem cell-derived dopaminergic neuron replacement therapy. Indication Parkinson’s disease Therapeutic Mechanism The investigational cell therapy product is being studied as an autologous neuron replacement for Parkinson’s disease. Unmet Medical Need PD is a neurodegenerative disorder, affecting 1+ million people in the US. PD causes loss of dopamine (DA) neurons in […]

A Phase 1b Safety Study for MRI guided delivery of AAV2-GDNF for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease

Therapeutic Candidate or Device AAV2-GDNF is a gene therapy product encoding Glial cell line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (GDNF) Indication Parkinson's disease Therapeutic Mechanism AAV2-GDNF will be delivered into the putamen. GDNF is a growth factor expected to act by stimulating regeneration of the terminals of dopamine producing neurons that are progressively lost in PD. This is […]

Allogeneic iPSC derived Dopaminergic Drug Product for Parkinson’s disease

Therapeutic Candidate or Device Allogeneic iPSC derived dopamine progenitors delivered to the brain of Parkinson's disease patients Indication Idiopathic Parkinson's disease Therapeutic Mechanism The cellular product reconstitutes dopaminergic neuron circuits lost owing to the disease Unmet Medical Need There are currently disease modifying therapies. This approach is intended to be disease modifying. Project Objective To […]

MRI Guided Delivery of Neural Progenitor Cells Secreting GDNF for the Treatment of Parkinson’s disease

Therapeutic Candidate or Device CNS10-NPC-GDNF is a neural progenitor cell line transfected with glial cell line derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) Indication Mid-stage Parkinson's disease (UPDRS stage III or lower) Therapeutic Mechanism Degeneration of dopaminergic neurons that project from the substantia nigra to the striatum causes the primary motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease. CNS10-NPC-GDNF cells will […]

Lorenz Studer, Winner of the 2017 Ogawa-Yamanaka Stem Cell Prize

Don’t miss our video interview with Dr. Lorenz Studer, esteemed stem cell scientist at Sloan Kettering and winner of the 2017 Gladstone Institutes Ogawa-Yamanaka Stem Cell Prize. Read our blog for more details about the Dr. Studer’s research