Summary of the project

TreatER is a European Union-funded Research & Development project which aims to develop a novel treatment for Parkinson’s disease.

The main focus of the TreatER project is to conduct a first-in-human clinical study with intracerebrally administered CDNF protein in people with Parkinson’s disease using a neurosurgically implanted Drug Delivery System. The TreatER project was started in January 2017 and completion is anticipated in 2020.

The clinical study was completed in July 2020. A TreatER webcast seminar with the topic World’s first clinical trial with CDNF: Aiming for a breakthrough in Parkinson’s was held on the 18th of November 2020. Recording is available here.

 

Clinical study

The clinical study has recruited 17 people with Parkinson’s within a defined disease stage. For a patient, being part of this clinical study means more than 25 visits to the hospital over a period of 10-16 months.

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Partners

The TreatER project is implemented by a consortium of 11 members representing universities, university hospitals, a patient organisation as well as the pharmaceutical industry. Herantis Pharma Plc acts as the formal sponsor of the clinical study. Renishaw Plc, the developer of the Drug Delivery System, is a co-sponsor of the clinical study. The three university hospitals responsible for patient treatments are Karolinska University Hospital and Skåne University Hospital in Sweden, and Helsinki University Hospital in Finland. In addition, the Universities of Helsinki and Oxford will together conduct non-clinical research related to the goals of the TreatER project.

Publications

  • CDNF is essential for enteric neuronal development, maintenance, and regulation of gastrointestinal transit
  • MANF Ablation Causes Prolonged Activation of the UPR without Neurodegeneration in the Mouse Midbrain Dopamine System
  • Cerebral dopamine neurotrophic factor-deficiency leads to degeneration of enteric neurons and altered brain dopamine neuronal function in mice