BPGbio, University of Oxford team up on treatments for Parkinson’s
Collaboration aims to advance targeted protein degradation technologies
The Centre for Medicines Discovery at the University of Oxford and BPGbio, an artificial intelligence (AI)-focused biopharmaceutical company, established a five-year research collaboration that aims to advance new technologies for treatments for people with brain diseases like Parkinson’s who have limited options.
Together the partners will validate and use BPGbio’s NAi interrogative biology platform to accelerate biomarker discovery, and the development of therapeutics, by combining patient biology with AI-driven analysis. In particular, BPGbio focuses on developing novel technologies using targeted protein degradation, or the selective breakdown and elimination of harmful disease-causing proteins.
“By harnessing our NAi Interrogative Biology Platform alongside the University of Oxford’s expertise, we aim to push the boundaries of protein degradation science and deliver transformative therapies for diseases like cancer and [central nervous system] disorders, where unmet medical needs remain significant,” Niven R. Narain, PhD, president and CEO of BPGbio, said in a joint press release.
“This collaboration represents a powerful alliance of biology-first science and cutting-edge translational research,” Narain added.
Aim is to develop treatments for Parkinson’s patients with limited options
A key characteristic of Parkinson’s disease is the formation of abnormal clumps of protein, sometimes referred to as Lewy bodies, within nerve cells. These clumps of proteins are toxic to nerve cells and can spread throughout the brain — meaning protein clumps in one part of the brain can trigger more clumps to form.
In Parkinson’s, one of the main components of these clumps, or aggregates, is a protein known as alpha-synuclein. The toxic clumps of alpha-synuclein are thought to contribute to the progressive loss of dopaminergic neurons, the nerve cells that produce dopamine, an important molecule for nerve cell communication. When dopamine levels become low enough, patients develop motor symptoms.
Available treatments for Parkinson’s commonly focus on easing motor symptoms by increasing dopamine, but they do not address the buildup of alpha-synuclein or the progression of the disease.
According to the partners, slowing and preventing the clumping of alpha-synuclein is as a promising avenue for developing new treatments for Parkinson’s.
Boston-based BPGbio has developed a first-in-class protein degradation program, which uses proteins known as E2 enzymes that are naturally used by cells to break down and eliminate other proteins. Modified E2 enzymes are combined with ligands, or Ro3 fragments. These ligands are small organic molecules that selectively target a particular harmful protein and allow the E2 enzymes to only eliminate that disease-causing protein, in this case alpha-synuclein.
The company has a large proprietary library of more than 1,000 Ro3 fragments that could serve as ligands and allow the enzymes to be effective at treating an array of neurological diseases related to harmful protein buildup.
BPGbio’s partnership with the University of Oxford, in the U.K., will allow the company to combine its protein degradation technologies with the Centre for Medicines Discovery’s expertise in translational research.
By partnering with BPGbio, we’re combining our world-class translational research expertise with their pioneering approach to protein degradation. … This collaboration has the potential to unlock new therapeutic strategies for diseases that have long resisted treatment.
The Centre is a multidisciplinary institute that focuses on creating new technologies for drug targeting and preclinical development. The work being done there includes extensive research on Parkinson’s disease causes, progression, and disease-modifying treatments.
“By partnering with BPGbio, we’re combining our world-class translational research expertise with their pioneering approach to protein degradation,” said Paul Brennan, PhD, director of the Centre for Medicines Discovery. “This collaboration has the potential to unlock new therapeutic strategies for diseases that have long resisted treatment, including challenging cancers and [brain and spinal cord] disorders.”
The first step of the collaboration will be to validate BPGbio’s enzyme-based targeted protein degradation technology, with future studies focused on identifying disease-causing proteins that can be targeted. A particular emphasis will be place on diseases that have been considered undruggable, or difficult to treat. After validation, the partners hope to use the technologies to develop effective therapies.
“We are excited to explore novel targets and bring forward breakthrough therapies that could make a profound difference for patients,” Brennan said.
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