Sigma-Aldrich Receives Award from Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Disease Research
- Posted on 30 October 2009
Sigma-Aldrich and The Michael J Fox Foundation (MJFF) have announced a collaboration that is expected to develop more accurate preclinical research models of Parkinson’s disease. Under a research grant from the latter, Sigma Advanced Genetic Engineering (SAGE) Labs will use novel CompoZr Zinc Finger Nuclease (ZFN) technology in an effort to create preclinical research models that are needed for the development of transformative treatments for the disease.
The models, which are expected to take as little as one year to develop, will be made accessible to scientists throughout the Parkinson’s research community in order to speed up basic research and drug development efforts field-wide.
Adopting the approach to developing more effective and targeted research models, SAGE Labs will use the CompoZr ZFN technology in its efforts to design ‘knockout’ rat models in which the genes known to be directly implicated in Parkinson’s disease are omitted. This research is expected to facilitate the development of new models that scientists believe will provide a better understanding of Parkinson’s disease at the molecular, biochemical, physiological and behavioral levels. This knowledge may, in turn, result in new therapeutic targets and approaches for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease.
