Amydis has received a new grant from The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF) for the Company’s pioneering retinal tracer program for alpha-synuclein (ASYN).

Amydis received previous grant support from MJFF in 2018 to evaluate its patent-protected portfolio of novel small molecule contrast agents (retinal tracers) that emit a strong fluorescent signal upon selective binding to protein biomarkers of Parkinson’s Disease (PD), which form in the retina. Amydis is working on the world’s first retinal tracer for ASYN, with the goal of providing early and accurate detection of PD through the eye, as well as monitoring of disease progression and evaluating the effectiveness of candidate therapeutics.

“We are extremely proud to have the support of MJFF for our ASYN retinal tracer program, which has the potential to offer patients an affordable and accessible test for early diagnosis of PD,” said CEO and Founder, Dr. Stella Sarraf. “We appreciate MJFF’s continued funding as we collectively work toward solutions for this disease.”

PD is the second most common neurodegenerative disease and affects more than 6 million people worldwide. People with PD start experiencing symptoms later in the course of the disease, when a significant amount of the neurons have already been lost or impaired. Currently, diagnosis at an early stage is difficult. The development of a retinal diagnostic tracer targeting ASYN would address this unmet medical need. ASYN is also associated with Lewy body dementia and multiple system atrophy.

“I am well aware of the challenges PD patients face in the diagnosis and treatment of disease. I believe the Amydis approach to detecting ASYN through the eye would be a tremendous step forward for the PD community,” Irene Litvan, MD, the Tasch Endowed Chair of Parkinson’s Disease Research and Director of the Movement Disorder Center at the University of California, San Diego said.