EndLyz Therapeutics, a UK-based biotech company, announces a collaboration with KU Leuven professor Peter Vangheluwe and the Center for Drug Design and Discovery (CD3). Together they will develop therapies that slow, or possibly even halt, the progression of Parkinson’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders. Prof. Vangheluwe joins as a scientific co-founder of the company. CD3 will also provide financial support as one of the early investors.
Worldwide, it is estimated that there are about 8.5 million people with Parkinson’s disease (WHO, 2019). The disease is one of the most common neurodegenerative disorders, in which certain areas of the brain die prematurely.
The most common symptoms include trembling, painful muscle contractions and difficulty speaking. The condition usually occurs in older people, but younger people can also be affected. In men, the disease is more common than in women.
Unraveling mechanisms
The cause of Parkinson’s disease is not yet known and there is no curative treatment for it. However, scientists are increasingly succeeding in unraveling the underlying mechanisms. In particular, the Laboratory of Cellular Transport Systems at KU Leuven, headed by Professor Peter Vangheluwe, is a worldwide authority in this field.
In recent years, his lab has specialized in two key proteins associated with protection against Parkinson’s disease. To that end, the lab has for several years worked closely with the Center for Drug Design and Discovery (CD3), an organization founded by KU Leuven Research & Development (LRD) dedicated to translating innovative biomedical research into new drugs.
“At issue are the transporters ‘ATP13A2’ and ‘ATP10B,’ two proteins that play important roles in the cell’s lysosomes”, says Patrick Chaltin, Managing Director of CD3. “Lysosomes break down sugars, proteins and lipids into valuable building blocks for cell function. Disruption of that process contributes to the development of Parkinson’s and other neurodegenerative diseases.”
“The Vangheluwe lab is working to better understand Parkinson’s disease, and together with CD3 it is also looking for drugs (small molecules) that improve the function of the proteins ATP13A2 and ATP10B in lysosomes. In that regard, late last year we set up a collaboration with SandboxAQ, an AI company from the lap of Alphabet Inc. – Google’s parent company. That collaboration was made possible in part by the generous support of the well-known Michael J. Fox Foundation.”
Therapeutic drugs
All that groundbreaking work has not gone unnoticed: EndLyz Therapeutics, a UK-based biotech company that has Oxford University as an academic shareholder, recently announced an exclusive partnership with Prof. Vangheluwe. He, along with two professors from the University of Oxford, will take on a role as scientific co-founder of the company, and give advice from his expertise in lysosomal transport biology.
EndLyz Therapeutics will also partner with CD3, which is stepping in as one of the early investors. Patrick Chaltin: “We thus join world-renowned investment funds like SV Health Investors’ Dementia Discovery Fund (DDF), Oxford Science Enterprises (OSE), AbbVie Ventures and Parkinson’s UK. In addition, the Michael J. Fox Foundation is granting 2.2 million dollars in funding to the company through one of its programs.”
“With the help of Peter Vangheluwe and CD3, EndLyz Therapeutics will now work to develop therapeutic drugs that target the proteins ATP13A2 and ATP10B, with the goal of slowing and hopefully stopping the progression of Parkinson’s disease. This would be a breakthrough in the way neurodegenerative diseases are treated, since today we can only treat their symptoms.”
Professor Peter Vangheluwe is an authority on certain transport proteins important in Parkinson’s disease. Together with the Center for Drug Design and Discovery, he will help EndLyz Therapeutics develop innovative, therapeutic drugs against this disease that affects millions of people worldwide.
Patrick Chaltin, Managing Director of CD3
