For the millions of people affected by dementia and Parkinson’s, better treatments can’t come soon enough. Current options are limited and don’t stop the conditions getting worse.
Developing new treatments is a long and complex journey, often taking many years. That’s why Alzheimer’s Research UK and Cure Parkinson’s are joining forces to explore every opportunity to speed up progress.
As the two leading UK charities focused on neurodegenerative research, we know that tackling the diseases that cause dementia and Parkinson’s is a mammoth task. It demands bold thinking, shared expertise, and identifying solutions together.
Many promising drugs show potential benefits across both conditions – particularly when it comes to slowing or stopping memory and thinking problems getting worse. By pooling our resources and knowledge, we’ll work with Cure Parkinson’s to fast track the most promising treatments into clinical trials, so they can reach the people who need them as quickly as possible.
A shared goal to repurpose drugs
The partnership builds on over a decade of progress of the globally recognised International Linked Clinical Trials (iLCT) initiative, a programme established by Cure Parkinson’s in collaboration with the Van Andel Institute. Each year, a committee of Parkinson’s experts from around the world meet to review drug candidates that could be repurposed or repositioned as treatments for Parkinson’s.
This initiative has seen incredible success, and roughly 30% of all therapies currently being investigated to slow or stop Parkinson’s disease have been reviewed by the iLCT.
These drugs, many of which are approved or being developed for other conditions and have been shown to be safe, offer an opportunity to find the first treatment for Parkinson’s that can alter the course of the disease.
These approaches can save years of development time and significantly reduce costs, because a lot of the data needed to understand whether and how they work already exists. This is something that is being explored extensively across Parkinson’s, dementia, and other disease areas.
Recognising the growing overlap in potential drug targets between Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, this year’s iLCT meeting will include a joint prioritisation session – bringing together experts in both fields to evaluate drugs with potential across diseases.
Dr Sheona Scales, Director of Research at Alz
heimer’s Research UK said:
“Repurposing existing drugs to treat the diseases that cause dementia has huge potential and could be a faster way to find treatments that people are desperately waiting for. But identifying which drugs we should progress into trials is a mammoth task. By working together with Cure Parkinson’s, we’re working faster and smarter to pinpoint these drugs and accelerate the development of the next treatments that will help not only people with dementia, but also Parkinson’s.”
Part of Alzheimer’s Research UK’s new Clinical Programme
This new collaboration forms part of Alzheimer’s Research UK’s new Clinical Programme. We hope to deliver treatments to those affected by dementia sooner by increasing the number of specialist clinical researchers in the UK and funding innovative clinical trials.
As part of this new partnership, both charities will:
- Review drug candidates with potential for both Parkinson’s and dementia
- Invite international dementia and Parkinson’s experts to jointly evaluate candidates
- Involve people affected by the conditions in the decision-making process
- Work together to secure the funding and partnerships needed to move promising drugs into clinical trials
Building a foundation for future collaboration
This collaboration represents a growing movement in medical research: the realisation that complex diseases like Parkinson’s and dementia can’t be tackled in isolation. The initiative hopes to serve as a blueprint for future partnerships – potentially extending to other areas such as multiple sclerosis, where underlying mechanisms like inflammation also play a role.
Helen Matthew’s CEO of Cure Parkinson’s said:
“We are delighted to announce Cure Parkinson’s partnership with Alzheimer’s Research UK around our International Linked Clinical Trials Initiative. We are confident it will accelerate finding treatments with the potential to slow, stop or reverse Parkinson’s as it means we can investigate drugs of mutual interest, targeting aspects of biology of both conditions. This partnership will also capitalise on shared research findings, expertise and resources to speed up drug development for both conditions.”
Together, Alzheimer’s Research UK and Cure Parkinson’s are building on more than a decade of progress to create a joined-up pipeline for potential treatments. With continued focus, collaboration, and support, we can bring life-changing treatments closer to those who need them most.
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