Parkinson’s UK invests £2.1 million in Neumora Therapeutics for preclinical testing of new Parkinson’s drug

Parkinson’s UK is investing £2.1million to support Neumora Therapeutics to carry out preclinical testing of NMRA-NLRP3, a NLRP3 inhibitor with the potential to reduce inflammation and protect brain cells in Parkinson’s. NLRP3 is a protein that plays a role in regulating a number of inflammatory processes that are believed to contribute to the damage to brain cells that underlies Parkinson’s.

This investment comes through the charity’s pioneering Virtual Biotech programme which was established in 2017 to drive forward promising new therapies to transform the lives of people living with Parkinson’s. This international programme, led by Parkinson’s UK in partnership with US patient organisation Parkinson’s Foundation, has already invested over £25 million in projects from early-stage research to world-first phase 2 clinical trials of ground-breaking new treatments.

Neumora Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company founded to confront the global brain disease crisis by taking a fundamentally different approach to the way treatments for brain diseases are developed. Neumora’s pipeline is comprised of seven programmes for neuropsychiatric disorders and neurodegenerative diseases, each targeting a novel mechanism of action, including NMRA-NLRP3. 

Neumora has identified multiple series of NLRP3 inhibitors that show excellent potency and selectivity in a range of cellular assays and demonstrated target engagement and pharmacodynamic activity in relevant animal models.  

The investment through Parkinson’s UK’s Virtual Biotech programme will support Neumora to carry out further extensive preclinical testing to progress NMRA-NLRP3. This will include conducting additional preclinical work to further understand the safety profile and potential efficacy of NMRA-NLRP3. If this preclinical work is successful, the company should be ready to move forward with submission of an IND and, potentially, into clinical trials. 

We are delighted to be working with Neumora Therapeutics to accelerate the development of an extremely promising new therapeutic for Parkinson’s. We know people with the condition have more inflammation in the brain and this may play a role in damaging the dopamine-producing cells affected in Parkinson’s, speeding up the rate at which they die. Drugs that can effectively reduce inflammation in the brain have major potential to slow or stop the progression of the condition, something that is desperately needed by people living with Parkinson’s.”

Arthur Roach, Virtual Biotech Director, Parkinson’s UK