New global alliance unites platform trials to hasten Parkinson’s research
Collaboration aims to improve efficiency, speed up progress toward a cure
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The new Global Alliance for Parkinson's Platforms (GAPP) has launched.
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It will unite platform trials to accelerate research into disease-modifying treatments.
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The collaboration aims to share resources, standardize data, and coordinate studies.
Cure Parkinson’s and France Parkinson have joined forces to launch a new international initiative, the Global Alliance for Parkinson’s Platforms (GAPP).
This alliance brings together leaders from around the world to unite their efforts in running platform trials. This approach simultaneously tests potential disease-modifying treatments for Parkinson’s disease against a common control group.
This global alliance was launched during the second annual International PD-Platform Meeting, with the aim of connecting sites across countries — from the U.K., France, and the U.S. to Norway and Australia — so that these efforts don’t happen in isolation.
“With France Parkinson, we are very proud to have created a global collaboration for Parkinson’s platform trials,” Helen Matthews, CEO of Cure Parkinson’s, said in an organization press release. “This collaboration will speed up progress, improve efficiency, and ultimately accelerate a cure.”
Alliance will unify efforts by sharing resources, defining data standards
Parkinson’s disease is caused by the progressive loss of dopaminergic neurons, the nerve cells responsible for producing dopamine, which is a key signaling molecule involved in motor control. Although there are several medications available to help manage Parkinson’s symptoms, there are no disease-modifying treatments that can slow, stop, or reverse disease progression.
Several platform trials are currently ongoing. For instance, Cure Parkinson’s has invested approximately $1.35 million to support SLEIPNIR, which will simultaneously test up to three treatments by assessing whether they can interact with their intended targets in the brain. Promising treatments will then enter late-stage clinical platform trials to evaluate their efficacy at treating Parkinson’s.
Additionally, the EJS ACT-PD program in the U.K. will test therapies approved for other diseases, which an international committee of scientists, physicians, and advocates has selected. This committee reviews and prioritizes promising therapies for clinical testing each year.
Only through collaboration and the sharing of international expertise will we be able to advance knowledge and strengthen research, bringing us closer to discovering treatments capable of slowing the progression of Parkinson’s disease.
GAPP will ensure these efforts are unified by sharing resources, defining data standards, and coordinating study procedures for platform trials. The goal is to reduce duplication, help with drug selection, and share insights into regulatory procedures across countries.
The alliance also aims to strengthen engagement with individuals living with Parkinson’s and promote the involvement of biotech and pharmaceutical companies. To that end, it will align drug-selection procedures toward an international strategy that will make it more appealing for companies to partner with several platforms and contribute promising candidate drugs.
“Only through collaboration and the sharing of international expertise will we be able to advance knowledge and strengthen research, bringing us closer to discovering treatments capable of slowing the progression of Parkinson’s disease,” said Marie Fuzzati, PhD, scientific director of France Parkinson.
GAPP involves several working groups focusing on drug preparedness, data uniformization, biomarkers, sustainability, and public and patient involvement.
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