Bayer has announced that two subsidiaries are progressing investigational cell and gene therapies as potential treatments for Parkinson’s disease.
The company said its BlueRock Therapeutics subsidiary has successfully administered the first dose of its investigational stem-cell therapy to a patient with Parkinson’s disease.
BlueRock's therapy aims to restore the affected regions of the human brain by reversing the degenerative process, potentially restoring lost motor function. Patients will undergo surgical transplantation of the dopamine-producing cells into the brain.
At the same time, Bayer announced that another subsidiary - Asklepios BioPharmaceutical - is recruiting patients for a trial of an investigational gene therapy targeting Parkinson’s disease.
“The potential of BlueRock and AskBio’s clinical candidates to treat Parkinson’s disease and truly help patients with their high unmet medical need could be immense,” said Wolfram Carius, the head of cell and gene therapy at Bayer.
“We are still in early phases of clinical trials, but passionately committed to advancing breakthrough science to improve the lives of patients who have been waiting for way too long for innovative treatments.”