This company develops small molecules to upregulate autophagy to treat Parkinson’s disease.
Autophagy is the process which cells use to break down waste materials (like accumulating proteins) or damaged cell organelles (like damaged mitochondria).
In Parkinson’s disease, autophagy is dysregulated, leading to accumulation of proteins in brain cells (like alpha-synuclein), and the piling up of damaged mitochondria (given they are not properly cleared via autophagy).