Cantabio Pharmaceuticals Awarded Major Grant from The Michael J. Fox Foundation for the Development of a Novel DJ-1 Protein Replacement Therapy for the Treatment of Parkinson’s Disease

Grant enables the further development of Cantabio's innovative DJ-1 replacement therapy, which have high therapeutic potential in both disease-modifying and preventive contexts for the treatment of Parkinson's disease.

SAN MATEO, CA / ACCESSWIRE / February 6, 2024 / Cantabio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ("Cantabio" or the "Company"), a preclinical stage pharmaceutical company developing disease-modifying therapeutics and diagnostics for Parkinson's disease (PD), Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Type II diabetes, today announced that The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research (MJFF) has awarded the Company a major grant for a project entitled "Development of Cell-penetrant DJ-1 Protein as a Therapeutic Candidate for Treatment of Parkinson's Disease." This grant supports the Company's ongoing cell-penetrant DJ-1 protein replacement therapeutic program.

The funded project focuses on DJ-1, a protein genetically linked to early-onset of familial PD. DJ-1 has been also associated with the on-set and progression of sporadic PD. DJ-1 acts as a vital defensive protein, protecting cells from damage caused by biochemical stress such as oxidative and glyoxal stress and protein (such as a-synuclein and tau) aggregation. Biochemical stress is a causal factor in a number of disease areas, notably neurodegenerative disorders such as PD, as well as AD, Type 2 Diabetes and diseases related to aging.

DJ-1 is important for healthy functioning and aging of the brain. However, evidence suggests that total DJ-1 levels are lower and some of the protein is oxidatively damaged during diseased conditions compared to healthy ones leading to partial loss of its functions.

Cantabio has developed a novel engineered cell-penetrant DJ-1 that can penetrate cells and have widespread distribution in vivo. By administering cell-penetrant DJ-1, Cantabio aims to replenish the lost and oxidatively damaged DJ-1 with active protein and thus prevent disease on-set and progression. This may happen via various mechanisms such as preventing and reducing high oxidative stress and the aggregation of the a-synuclein and the tau proteins.

"We are very pleased to fund Cantabio Pharmaceutical's research on a novel Parkinson's therapy", said Jessica Tome Garcia, PhD, Associate Director of Translational Research at MJFF. "MJFF's goal is to fund promising disease modifying therapies that can effectively treat people with Parkinson's disease and bridge the gap between their unmet needs."

Cantabio's CEO & CSO, Dr. Gergely Tóth stated, "Cantabio is determined to develop a novel disease modifying precision therapeutic for Parkinson's disease by increasing DJ-1 levels in patients. We are grateful to have the financial support of The Michael J. Fox Foundation to advance the development of our DJ-1 replacement therapy, which is complemented by our novel Redox DJ-1 ELISA platform, a blood test for the potential diagnosis of Parkinson's disease. This enables us to pursue the development of a precision medicine approach for the treatment Parkinson's and related conditions."

About Cantabio Pharmaceuticals

Cantabio is focused on bringing novel, disease modifying, first-in-class drug candidates and diagnostics into clinical trials through the discovery and development of innovative pharmacological chaperone and protein delivery-based therapeutics for the treatment of Alzheimer's (AD), Parkinson's (PD) and Type II Diabetes. Through its in-house drug discovery programs, Cantabio is targeting the reduction of biochemical stress such as protein aggregation, oxidative and glyoxal stress, the root causes of various aging-associated diseases. More information is available at www.cantabio.com.

Contacts:

Company contact:
Gergely Tóth, Ph.D., M.B.A., CEO & CSO,
Cantabio Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
info@cantabio.com

SOURCE: Cantabio Pharmaceuticals, Inc.