The Urgency of Parkinson’s Research

As the world observes World Day to Fight Parkinson, the focus sharpens on the urgent need for effective treatments. In France alone, an estimated 300,000 individuals live with Parkinson’s disease, a number projected to triple within the next 25 years. Currently, there is no cure for this debilitating neurodegenerative condition, making the search for innovative therapies paramount.

A Scientist’s Personal Quest

Guillaume Brachet,a 36-year-old French scientist diagnosed with Parkinson’s seven years ago,is leading a promising research endeavor. Brachet, a pharmacist and scientist, is channeling his personal experience into finding ways to slow down, and potentially even reverse, the progression of the disease.

Repurposing Existing Medications: A Faster Track

Brachet’s approach centers on identifying existing drugs, already approved for other conditions, that could also be effective against Parkinson’s. This strategy aims to bypass the lengthy and costly process of developing new medications from scratch.

Our ambition is to say that if there is something that is already usable, which already exists in pharmacies, it is indeed to find it quickly.

Guillaume Brachet, in franceinfo

The traditional drug development timeline can span a decade or more.The latency time between the discovery of a new medication and its arrival on the market, it is between ten and fifteen years, Brachet notes, highlighting the potential time savings of repurposing existing drugs.

Promising Results with Diabetes Drugs

Brachet’s start-up, Cxs Therapeutics, comprises a team of seven scientists. They have identified two drugs currently used to treat diabetes that,when combined,show promise in combating Parkinson’s. The rationale behind this approach lies in the understanding of Parkinson’s as a metabolic disorder.

According to Brachet,What we have identified in the scientific literature is that it is a disease that has a metabolic departure. He further explains the cellular mechanism: If the cell was a house, we will say that it is the boiler that would be disregarded. We are really on a double action with this medication which is both to stop the bad mix of the boiler and to prevent it from being overpressure.

The potential impact of this treatment is significant. In the best of cases, we could recover part of what was lost. It means recovering part of the neurons that have degenerated,that is to say allow the body to regenerate partly …

Clinical Trials on the Horizon

while initial testing has been conducted on mice,the next crucial step is human clinical trials. A trial involving 150 to 200 patients is planned for 2026,with results anticipated within three years. These trials will be pivotal in determining the efficacy and safety of the repurposed drug combination.

Global Research Efforts

Brachet’s work is part of a broader global effort to find effective Parkinson’s treatments. Approximately 150 clinical trials are currently underway worldwide, exploring various therapeutic avenues.