Slowing Progression of Parkinson’s Disease
Parkinson’s disease (PD) affects 10 million people worldwide and is the second-leading neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer’s disease. The U.S. economic burden for PD in 2019 was estimated to be $52 billion. While there are current treatments for PD that offer symptomatic relief, there are no FDA-approved therapeutics to slow disease progression or address the underlying disease mechanism. In preclinical research, Axial has established the contributory effect of certain gut bacteria, specifically through the production of bacterial amyloids, to gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms, motor symptoms, and disease pathology in PD.
AX-5006, a potent new chemical entity (NCE), is focused on reducing bacterial amyloid aggregation in the gut and attenuating disease progression in PD and undergoing IND-enabling studies. Axial anticipates AX-5006 will enter clinical testing in the second half of 2024
1. Michael J. Fox Foundation, Economic Burden and Future Impact of Parkinson’s Disease, July 5, 2019
2. Sampson, T; Mazmanian, S; (2020) et al. eLife 9:e53111
