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F +358 9 3193 6554
07/10/2010
Michael J. Fox Foundation awards $515,086 to professor Mart Saarma for therapeutic development for Parkinson’s disease
HELSINKI, Finland – October 6, 2010 – Hermo Pharma Ltd. today announced that The Michael J. Fox Foundation has awarded a significant research grant to Professor Mart Saarma at the University of Helsinki.
The Michael J. Fox Foundation funding will be used to complete preclinical studies addressing the therapeutic potential of the neurotrophic factor CDNF (short for Cerebral Dopamine Neurotrophic Factor) in Parkinson’s disease. CDNF is Hermo Pharma’s proprietary neurotrophic factor.
The research project currently funded by The Michael J. Fox Foundation is a continuation of the long line of internationally awarded work by Professor Saarma, who is also a cofounder of Hermo Pharma Ltd. Prof. Saarma’s team originally discovered CDNF in 2002 and then demonstrated that it protects and has a capacity to repair injured neurons in animal models of Parkinson’s disease. Previous preclinical research on CDNF has provided highly promising results when comparing the neuroprotective and neurorestorative properties of CDNF with other neurotrophic factors.