NEW YORK – Octave Bioscience said Wednesday that it has received a $10 million grant from the Michael J. Fox Foundation (MJFF) to develop and validate a multi-marker protein biomarker test for Parkinson's disease.
The Menlo Park, California-based company aims to develop a protein panel that can be used to assess disease activity and progression in individuals with Parkinson's.
The work builds on Octave's existing efforts in multiple sclerosis in which the company has developed a protein panel for gauging disease activity.
In addition to funding, MJFF will provide Octave access to data resources, including its Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI), a longitudinal, observational, multicenter study investigating the progression of clinical features, imaging outcomes, biologic and genetic markers, and digital outcomes of disease across all stages.
"The Parkinson's community has an unmet need for deeper, objective, and more precise insights that are based on the individual patient's biology. Biomarker testing is a promising development in identifying best responders to certain treatments, evaluating treatment impact, and tracking disease progression — all things that would improve disease management and patient outcomes," MJFF CSO Mark Frasier said in a statement. "This precision approach enhances patient care and enables a holistic view of their condition."
"MJFF is at the forefront of scientific research, and we look forward to building on their extraordinary insights as well as their deep knowledge of the disease and its pathophysiology to create the industry's first validated multiplexed biomarker assay panel for Parkinson's," William Hagstrom, Octave's founder and CEO, said in a statement.