YepBio Develops Drug to Inhibit Parkinson's Disease Onset... "Expecting Fundamental Cause Treatment"

Successful Inhibition of the Parkinson's Disease-Inducing 'Parkin-PARIS-PGC-1α' Signaling Pathway
Joint Research by Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine and Johns Hopkins University Team

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyungsoo Park] YepBio, a developer of treatments for degenerative brain diseases, announced on the 13th that it has published the results of research and development on anti-Parkinson's drugs based on the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease in collaboration with Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine and Johns Hopkins University research teams in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

Parkinson's disease is the second most prevalent degenerative brain disorder after Alzheimer's disease, affecting about 2% of people over the age of 65. It occurs due to the death of dopamine-secreting neurons in the substantia nigra of the brain. Unlike Alzheimer's disease, the causative proteins related to neuronal death are diverse and complex, and there is currently no fundamental cure.

Existing drugs have drawbacks such as various side effects and reduced efficacy with long-term use. Although new drug development is underway to overcome these issues, the drugs have focused on maintaining dopamine in the substantia nigra of patients, and no drugs have emerged that address the fundamental causes.

To develop new drugs for Parkinson's disease treatment, the YepBio joint research team is studying control mechanisms that can treat the root causes of the disease. To overcome the critical 'Parkin-Paris-PGC-1α' signaling pathway involved in the death of dopamine neurons, the researchers are developing drugs that increase the expression of 'PGC-1α.'

In the substantia nigra of actual Parkinson's patients, Parkin protein loses its function due to various internal and external factors, leading to the accumulation of its downstream substrate 'Paris,' which ultimately suppresses the production of PGC-1α. This results in mitochondrial dysfunction, causing neuronal death in the substantia nigra and the onset of Parkinson's disease.

The research team screened 8,320 candidate compounds to identify drugs that increase PGC-1α expression. They identified 'Farnesol,' a drug that increases PGC-1α by more than threefold, and demonstrated its anti-Parkinson's efficacy.

YepBio already possesses 'YPD-01,' which induces approximately 1.3 times higher PGC-1α production than Farnesol. Currently, preclinical studies have completed cell experiments and efficacy verification, and the team is awaiting long-term toxicity animal test results. YPD-01 has been registered for domestic patents and filed for international patents (PCT) as an anti-Parkinson's therapeutic drug.

Park Chi-hoo, CEO of YepBio, stated, "We have been able to gain recognition by publishing the world's first Parkinson's disease mechanism research in a globally renowned academic journal," adding, "YPD-01 is the first synthetic new drug based on the mechanism revealed in this study and is attracting attention."

YepBio specializes in developing treatments for degenerative brain diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, as well as early diagnostic biomarkers and diagnostic kits for Parkinson's disease. In addition to YPD-01, the company is developing early diagnostic and innovative new drug candidates targeting markets with no current treatments, including 'YND-02' for Alzheimer's and Huntington's diseases and 'YPDBM-01,' a Parkinson's biomarker.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.