Lario Therapeutics Secures $2.4M to Advance Neuronal Calcium Channel Platform for Parkinson's and PTSD
核心洞察
Lario Therapeutics (搜索) has secured $2.4 million in grant funding from The Michael J. Fox Foundation (搜索) and Wellcome (搜索) to advance its neuronal calcium channel drug discovery platform.
The funding will support development of selective small-molecule inhibitors targeting CaV1.3 (搜索) for Parkinson's disease (搜索) and CaV2.3 (搜索) for post-traumatic stress disorder (搜索).
The awards complement a previously announced $6 million grant from The Michael J. Fox Foundation (搜索) in 2024 for CaV2.3 (搜索) inhibition research.
Edinburgh-based biopharmaceutical company Lario Therapeutics (搜索) has secured $2.4 million in new grant funding from The Michael J. Fox Foundation (搜索) for Parkinson's Research and Wellcome (搜索) to accelerate development of its neuronal calcium channel drug discovery platform. The funding will enable the company to broaden its work on selective small-molecule inhibitors of voltage-gated neuronal calcium channels, expanding into Parkinson's disease (搜索) and initiating research in post-traumatic stress disorder (搜索).
Dual-Target Approach for Neurological Disorders
The funding package comprises a $1.5 million grant from The Michael J. Fox Foundation (搜索) and $900,000 from Wellcome (搜索). The Michael J. Fox Foundation award will support progress on CaV1.3 (搜索)-linked Parkinson's disease (搜索) biology, a target the foundation has highlighted as one of the most promising through its Targets to Therapies initiative.
In parallel, the Wellcome (搜索) grant will further validate CaV2.3 (搜索) as a target in PTSD, building on large-scale human genetics research linking variation in the CACNA1E (搜索) gene to increased risk of the condition. The CACNA1E gene encodes the CaV2.3 calcium channel, providing genetic validation for this therapeutic approach.
"Lario was founded to translate strong human genetics and neuronal biology into precision medicines for patients with severe neurological disease," said Henning Steinhagen, Chief Executive Officer of Lario Therapeutics (搜索). "We are grateful for the continued support of The Michael J. Fox Foundation (搜索), and the funding from Wellcome (搜索) which support us to advance these unique programmes towards the clinic, taking us one step closer to providing meaningful treatments for patients with high unmet need."
Building on Previous Investment
The latest awards complement a previously announced $6 million grant from The Michael J. Fox Foundation (搜索) in 2024 to explore CaV2.3 (搜索) inhibition across central nervous system disorders. This brings Lario's total funding from The Michael J. Fox Foundation to $7.5 million, demonstrating sustained confidence in the company's calcium channel platform.
Tom Otis, Chief Scientific Officer at Lario Therapeutics (搜索), explained the scientific rationale: "These awards recognise the growing body of evidence linking neuronal calcium channel dysfunction to the core biology of neurological and psychiatric diseases. By combining selective small-molecule chemistry with rigorous target biology, we are building a unique platform designed to deliver precision therapies for patients suffering from epilepsy (搜索), Parkinson's disease (搜索) and post-traumatic stress disorder (搜索)."
Clinical Development Timeline
Alongside the newly funded expansion into Parkinson's disease (搜索) and post-traumatic stress disorder (搜索), Lario continues to develop its leading CaV2.3 (搜索) programme for severe developmental and epileptic encephalopathies (搜索). The company has outlined plans to initiate IND-enabling studies in 2026, followed by an IND filing and subsequent first-in-human clinical trials.
The backing from two globally respected research organizations provides significant validation of Lario's scientific approach to targeting voltage-gated neuronal calcium channels. The company's focus on first-in-class precision medicines addresses high unmet medical needs across multiple neurological and psychiatric conditions, with genetic evidence supporting the therapeutic potential of calcium channel modulation in these disorders.