Parkinson's Disease Vaccine Human Trial

Editor's Choice Main Category: Parkinson's Disease Also Included In: Immune System / Vaccines;Clinical Trials / Drug Trials Article Date: 05 Jun 2012 - 14:00 PDT

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The company hopes the vaccine may deliver a causative treatment for Parkinson's. Its development has been generously supported by the Michael J. Fox Foundation. The trial's primary endpoints are tolerability and safety of PD01A.

According to AFFiRiS, the vaccine candidate, PD01A, represents "..the first agent worldwide aiming disease modification of Parkinson's rather than addressing symptomatic improvement only. PD01A targets a protein called alpha-Synuclein (alpha-syn) which plays a key role in the onset and progression of Parkinsons."

PD01A is designed to teach the body's immune system to generate antibodies that target alpha-syn. The trial, involving 32 patients, will be carried out at the Confraternitt Privatklinik Josefstadt in Vienna, Austria.

AFFiRiS CEO, Dr. Walter Schmidt, said:

Even in its preliminary stages this new treatment concept was highly appreciated, as the renowned Michael J. Fox Foundation assented financial support to a total of 1,5 Mio. USD. Hence, this is one of the few projects outside of the USA considered worthy of support by the foundation."

The company says this is the first vaccine to target the cause of Parkinson's disease. For the last five decades, all therapeutic interventions on Parkinson's have sought to substitute dopamine, a neurotransmitter.

Drugs used for treating patients with Parkinson's have only been able to address the symptoms. There is not one drug today that can modify the course of the disease.

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Parkinson's Disease Vaccine Human Trial