Second to Alzheimer’s in prevalence, Parkinson’s numbers are increasing at a faster rate. Over 200,000 Australians live with the debilitating condition, a figure set to double in the next 15 years.

There is no clinical diagnostic test or drug to slow progression of the disease. By the time most people are diagnosed it’s thought that over 50% of the brain cells that produce dopamine, a neurotransmitter, have died.

With most people diagnosed years, even decades, after their first symptom, they face a daily struggle to manage a complex array of symptoms that vary person-to-person and day-to-day. Currently Parkinson’s has an estimated economic burden of over $12 billion a year in Australia.

The Parkinson’s Research Foundation, a health promotion charity and brainchild of Richard Balanson and Michael Katz, brings their experience from careers guiding world-leading technology and financial companies, along with funding in the form of venture philanthropy, to accelerate the search for a drug to stop Parkinson’s disease.

Balanson and Katz are no strangers to what drives successful outcomes. After years of involvement in various organisations supporting Parkinson’s research, they wanted to find a new way of supporting Parkinson’s researchers to deliver impactful research.

Their approach is based in venture philanthropy, which involves finding key areas of Parkinson’s research where they can generate the greatest impact, and they achieve this by regular collaborative meetings to discuss strategic directions.

Richard Balanson, co-director of the Parkinson’s Research Foundation, said their mission is simple: to accelerate the development of new Parkinson’s therapies.

“This project is just the beginning. We have an ambitious vision of a different way of supporting researchers with the aim of delivering results quicker, and the team at WEHI fit that vision,” he said.

The Parkinson’s research program at WEHI is built on years of experience in the fundamental drivers of the disease.

Combining leading expertise in cell death, ubiquitin, mitochondrial functioning and genomics – all of which are interlinked at the root of Parkinson’s – has already delivered a series of breakthrough discoveries.

Professor David Komander, head of WEHI’s Ubiquitin Signalling Division, said the projects they aimed to push forward into the drug discovery phase were all founded on long-standing research, expertise and discoveries made by the team.

“Our research explores whether boosting the function of mitochondria, the powerhouses of cells, has potential as a disease-modifying therapy in Parkinson’s. After this initial research phase, we will be able to accelerate to the next phase of drug discovery,” said Prof Komander.

Professor Grant Dewson, head of the WEHI Parkinson’s Disease Research Centre, said the major stumbling blocks to translating research into new drugs and clinical trials was the cost of research.

“Research needs investment from partners like the Parkinson’s Research Foundation who are willing to commit to innovative new strategies that will drive transformative change,” he said.

“Partnering with the Parkinson’s Research Foundation is about changing the lives of people with Parkinson’s. Our shared goal is to have a drug therapy that slows the progression of Parkinson’s in clinical trials as soon as possible.”

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Header image: Parkinson’s Research Foundation founders, Michael Katz (left) and Richard Balanson (right).