The research group of Prof. Arianna Bellucci, Associate of Pharmacology at the Department of Molecular and Translational Medicine of the University of Brescia, in collaboration with the team of Prof. Ermanno Valoti, Full Professor of Pharmaceutical Chemistry at the University of Milan, is developing new therapies capable of stopping the progression of Parkinson's disease.
These are small molecules which, by restoring communication between synapses (i.e., the contact points between nerve cells), through a completely innovative mechanism, are able to counteract their degeneration.
The STOPD project, supported by international funding from the Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, NY, USA, and by Parkinson’s UK, has recently received two prestigious awards that attest to its significant level of innovation: the Seed for Innovation Award, received from the UniMi Foundation, and the Seed for Innovation 2.0 Award, sponsored by the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy. The project is also promoted through the Open Innovation portal of the Lombardy region: https://www.openinnovation.regione.lombardia.it/it/news/news/7168/parkinson-dagli-atenei-di-brescia-e-milano-nuovi-orizzonti-di-terapia.