Sanofi Commits $1M to Support Parkinson’s Disease Genetic Research

October 23, 2020

Sanofi and the Parkinson’s Foundation announced on Wednesday a new research collaboration to advance the availability of genetic testing and counseling for people with Parkinson’s disease in the U.S. Over the next two years, Sanofi will provide $1 million in research funding to support the PD GENEration Mapping the Future of Parkinson’s Disease initiative. The company has a small molecule drug under Phase II development for Parkinson’s disease in patients with a specific genetic mutation. “Genetic testing is critical for advancing understanding of the biology behind Parkinson’s disease…with the hope of slowing disease progression,” said Erik Wallstroem, therapeutic area head in Sanofi’s neurology development unit.

Sanofi is also on the frontlines fighting COVID-19. Last week, the company announced that Sanofi and Translate Bio’s mRNA COVID-19 vaccine candidate induced high antibody levels in preclinical studies. In addition to the mRNA vaccine candidate in collaboration with Translate Bio, Sanofi is collaborating with GSK on a COVID-19 vaccine candidate using the same recombinant protein-based manufacturing technology as one of Sanofi’s seasonal influenza vaccines, combined with GSK’s established pandemic adjuvant platform.