Ipsen and Oncodesign to develop Parkinson’s disease treatment

Ipsen is allying with Oncodesign on the development of a pair of potentially promising new treatments again Parkinson's disease.

The collaboration will see the two companies combining their expertise to discover and develop innovative LRRK2 kinase inhibitors as potential agents against the condition, as well as other therapeutic areas.

It will utilise Oncodesign's Nanocyclix proprietary medicinal chemistry technology, which uses a macrocyclisation process of small chemical molecules to provide access to selective small molecule kinase inhibitors with attractive physicochemical and ADME properties.

Meanwhile, Ipsen will contribute its expertise in pharmaceutical research and development and translational sciences, as well as taking advantage of its network of academic and medical leaders in neurosciences.

Claude Bertrand, Ipsen's executive vice-president for research and development and chief scientific officer, said: "In the field of neurology and movement disorders, Parkinson's disease is a serious condition with high unmet medical needs where patients are seeking improved care and quality of life."

This comes after the firm recently announced an alliance with Syntaxin, which will focus on the development of botulinum toxin therapeutics.