Merck Spin-Off Prexton Turns mGluR4 Fortunes Around In Parkinson's Disease

Prexton Therapeutics has the only mGluR4-targeting drug candidate in clinical testing, after a number of big pharma dropped preclinical programs. The company has just secured €29m to fund two Phase II trials.

Neurology

Parkinson's disease is caused by the degeneration of dopaminergic brain cells, and most current treatments aim to replace dopamine or mimic its effects. Prexton Therapeutics' approach, however, is to stimulate a separate, compensatory neuronal system unaffected by Parkinson's. Its drug candidate Foliglurax (formerly known as PXT002331) activates a specific target of the glutamatergic system (mGluR4). The aim is to treat the motor symptoms of Parkinson's.

Merck & Co and Bristol-Myers Squibb both had mGluR4 programs that stalled

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