ARUK And Cure Parkinson’s Join Forces To Find New Treatments For People Living With Parkinson’s And Dementia

Two of the UK’s leading medical research charities have announced a landmark partnership that could dramatically speed up the development of treatments for millions of people living with dementia and Parkinson’s disease.

Alzheimer’s Research UK and Cure Parkinson’s revealed this week that they are joining forces to explore promising drug candidates that could benefit patients with both conditions, potentially cutting years off the traditional development timeline.

The collaboration comes at a critical time when families across the UK are desperately waiting for better treatment options. Current therapies for both dementia and Parkinson’s are severely limited and cannot halt the progression of these devastating conditions.

Shared Biology, Shared Solutions

The partnership recognises the growing scientific understanding that dementia and Parkinson’s disease share underlying biological mechanisms, particularly when it comes to cognitive decline and memory problems. This overlap presents a unique opportunity to develop treatments that could help patients with either condition.

“Many promising drugs show potential benefits across both conditions,” the charities explained in their announcement. By pooling resources and expertise, they aim to fast-track the most promising treatments into clinical trials.

Building on Proven Success

The new collaboration builds upon the internationally recognised International Linked Clinical Trials (iLCT) initiative, which has already achieved remarkable results in Parkinson’s research. Established by Cure Parkinson’s with the Van Andel Institute, this programme has seen roughly 30% of all current Parkinson’s therapies under investigation reviewed by its expert committee.

The iLCT approach focuses on repurposing existing drugs that are already approved or in development for other conditions. This strategy can save years of development time and significantly reduce costs, as much of the safety data already exists.

Expert Collaboration

For the first time, this year’s iLCT meeting will include a joint prioritisation session, bringing together leading experts in both Parkinson’s and dementia research to evaluate drugs with cross-disease potential.

Dr Sheona Scales, Director of Research at Alzheimer’s Research UK, emphasised the importance of this collaborative approach:
“Repurposing existing drugs to treat the diseases that cause dementia has huge potential and could be a faster way to find treatments that people are desperately waiting for.”

Comprehensive Partnership Framework

The collaboration will involve several key activities:

• Joint review of drug candidates with potential for both conditions
• International expert panels to evaluate promising treatments
• Patient and family involvement in decision-making processes
• Coordinated efforts to secure funding and partnerships for clinical trials

Part of Broader Clinical Initiative

This partnership forms a cornerstone of Alzheimer’s Research UK’s new Clinical Programme, which aims to increase the number of specialist clinical researchers in the UK and fund innovative trials to deliver treatments sooner.

Helen Matthews, CEO of Cure Parkinson’s, expressed optimism about the collaboration’s potential:
“We are confident it will accelerate finding treatments with the potential to slow, stop or reverse Parkinson’s as it means we can investigate drugs of mutual interest, targeting aspects of biology of both conditions.”