France-based biopharmaceutical company Domain Therapeutics has launched a spinout called Mavalon Therapeutics to develop a Parkinson’s disease treatment, and venture capital firm Medicxi has pledged up to €9m ($9.8m) in funding.
Mavalon is working to develop a small-molecule oral treatment for Parkinson’s that will work by inducing the production of Glial cell line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor, a factor that promotes the growth of dopamine neurons, in the brain.
Pascal Neuville, chief executive of Domain Therapeutics, said: “We are confident in the capacity of the Mavalon team to rapidly move this asset forward towards the clinical stage and make this promising treatment available to the Parkinson’s disease patient population.”