Michael J. Fox Foundation and Parkinson’s UK fund research into restorative sleep for Parkinson’s

AstronauTx Ltd has announced that it has received funding from The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF) and that Parkinson’s UK is funding an additional complementary research effort in collaboration with University College London (UCL).

One project will test whether enhancing restorative sleep can reduce the accumulation of pathological proteins linked to Parkinson’s disease.

The other will examine whether increasing slow-wave sleep can enhance glymphatic flow, the brain’s natural waste-clearance mechanism, and remove alpha-synuclein.

Jane Rhodes, chief executive of AstronauTx, said: “We are grateful for the support from The Michael J. Fox Foundation and Parkinson’s UK as we investigate the relationship between restorative sleep mechanisms and Parkinson’s disease and evaluate the therapeutic potential of these approaches.

“By targeting the mechanisms that regulate restorative sleep, we aim to unlock a completely new approach to treating Parkinson’s disease and other neurological diseases at their earliest stages, and we believe this grant-funded work has the potential to directly support the development of new disease-modifying approaches for patients.”

The MJFF-funded project will explore novel compounds developed by AstronauTx as a potential disease-modifying treatment for prodromal Parkinson’s disease.

It will focus on REM Sleep Behaviour Disorder (RBD), which is recognised as an early indicator of Parkinson’s disease.

AstronauTx aims to generate data supporting the development of one of its compounds as a potential disease-modifying treatment at this stage, when there may be an opportunity to influence disease progression.

The grant was awarded through MJFF’s Parkinson’s Disease Therapeutics Pipeline Program, which supports preclinical and translational research aimed at evaluating potential treatments and advancing them towards clinical development.

Shalini Padmanabhan, senior vice president and head of translational research at The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, said: “Restorative sleep mechanisms are an emerging area of interest for therapeutic development in Parkinson’s disease, with the potential to offer new opportunities to intervene earlier in the disease process.

“The studies supported through this award will generate important preclinical evidence to evaluate this therapeutic approach and help determine its potential to advance toward clinical development.”

Parkinson’s UK is funding a complementary project with UCL, led by Ian Harrison and supported by AstronauTx, examining whether increasing slow-wave sleep can enhance the brain’s waste-clearance pathways.

The study will assess whether a sleep-enhancing compound that increases slow-wave activity and glymphatic flow results in the removal of the neurotoxic protein alpha-synuclein from the brain in a Parkinson’s disease mouse model.

The two programmes are expected to provide insights into the relationship between sleep biology and Parkinson’s disease.

AstronauTx is also preparing its lead programme for clinical development in 2027 as it advances therapies targeting sleep architecture for Alzheimer’s disease and related neurological conditions.