SandboxAQ, a company delivering AI solutions, has partnered with The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research to develop novel treatments for Parkinson’s disease. The $25 million research grant is part of the LRRK2 Investigative Therapeutics Exchange (LITE) program, which aims to bridge basic science advances to industry-led drug development.
SandboxAQ will collaborate with the University of Dundee in Scotland to improve its LRRK2 inhibitors and identify innovative compounds acting as allosteric modulators. The company’s Large Quantitative Models (LQMs) integrate AI tools with physics-based scoring functions, allowing for rapid screening of millions of compounds and small molecule design.
Professor Dario Alessi, Director of the MRC Protein Phosphorylation Unit at the University of Dundee, will lead the LITE program. Nadia Harhen, GM of AI Simulation at SandboxAQ, expressed confidence that their technologies will enable the translation of academic discoveries into new drugs to help people with Parkinson’s disease.
Advancing Parkinson’s Research through Collaboration and AI-Powered Technologies
The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research has partnered with SandboxAQ, a company delivering AI solutions, to advance drug candidates for Parkinson’s disease (PD) through the LRRK2 Investigative Therapeutics Exchange (LITE) program. This $25 million research grant aims to bridge basic science advances to industry-led drug development, leveraging SandboxAQ’s expertise in neurodegenerative diseases and its Large Quantitative Models (LQMs).
The Importance of LRRK2 in Parkinson’s Research
LRRK2 is a gene identified in 2004 as being the most commonly associated with Parkinson’s. Despite important biological and genetic discoveries, no new therapy targeting this protein has reached the market. Mutations in the LRRK2 gene are now understood to be the most common causes of inherited PD. The LITE program, led by Professor Dario Alessi, Director of the MRC Protein Phosphorylation Unit at the University of Dundee, aims to develop new approaches to targeting the LRRK2 gene with therapies while also supporting the development of LRRK2-relevant clinical biomarkers to measure progress.
The Role of SandboxAQ’s Large Quantitative Models
SandboxAQ’s LQMs integrate AI tools with physics-based scoring functions, allowing the creation of detailed protein-ligand complex models, rapid screening of millions of compounds, ligand identification, and small molecule design. These technologies will help advance the research being conducted across the LITE Consortium, whose projects are led by scientists from the University of Dundee and attract more than 30 global academic and clinical collaborators as well as more than a dozen companies.
Collaboration and Translation of Academic Discoveries
The collaboration with the University of Dundue is SandboxAQ’s second research partnership with the MJFF. Nadia Harhen, GM of AI Simulation at SandboxAQ, expressed confidence that their Large Quantitative Models and AI simulation techniques will enable them to translate academic discoveries into new drugs and ultimately help people who have Parkinson’s disease. The company’s partners at the University of Dundee have done extraordinarily important preclinical research, and they are excited to help them translate their discoveries into breakthrough therapies to help patients affected by PD.
The LITE Program: A Platform for Cooperation and Advancement
The LITE program, launched in 2024, provides tens of millions of dollars of grant support, paving the way for new cooperation on LRRK2. It connects companies that are developing LRRK2-targeting therapies with key opinion leaders and provides preclinical and clinical resources to establish best practices for advancing LRRK2 therapeutics. The program benefits from collaboration with other ASAP initiative-supported programs, including the Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiatives (PPMI) and the Global Parkinson’s Genetics Program (GP2).
The Future of Parkinson’s Research: AI-Powered Breakthroughs
The partnership between SandboxAQ and the MJFF through the LITE program represents a significant step forward in the quest to develop effective treatments for Parkinson’s disease. By leveraging AI-powered technologies, such as Large Quantitative Models, researchers can accelerate the discovery of new drugs and therapies, ultimately improving the lives of people affected by PD.
As the field continues to evolve, collaborations like this one will play an increasingly important role in driving progress towards a future where Parkinson’s is a manageable condition.
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