The University of Oxford and Selvita announced an integrated drug discovery collaboration in the area of Parkinson's disease. While Parkinson's disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disease affecting 7 million people worldwide, there are only symptomatic therapies available. At the molecular level, it is caused by the build-up of a small protein called alpha-synuclein which forms aggregates inside vulnerable neurons.

The inability of cells to efficiently clear these aggregates may lead to the death of neurons and the emergence of characteristic symptoms of the disease. Professor George Tofaris and his Team at the University of Oxford have identified key protein disposal factors that affect alpha-synuclein aggregation, and could be important drug targets for disease modification. Taking advantage of Selvita's experience in the areas of protein degradation and neuroscience, Professor Tofaris and his team have worked with Selvita to develop promising prototype compounds that efficiently promote the clearance of alpha-synuclein aggregates.

The project is now being continued with an aim to progress the compounds further along the drug discovery pipeline by improving their pharmacological properties and their efficacy. Parkinson's disease: Parkinson's disease is the second Most common neurodegenerative disease affects 7 million people worldwide. Currently there are only partially effective symptomatic therapies but no treatments to stop or slow down the disease.

Parkinson's primarily affects movement and posture due to the death of dopamine producing nerve cells. Poor smell, sleep or mood disturbance and other difficulties often start decades before the movement disorder and become more prominent as the disease progresses, with a significant impact on the quality of patients' and caregivers' lives.