Investor & Industry Resources to De-Risk Parkinson’s Research

This program seeks to advance therapeutic development through pre-clinical and/or clinical testing of approaches addressing unmet needs of people with Parkinson’s disease (PD). The program is set up to benefit therapeutics with clear potential to prevent, stop, or delay disease progression or to reduce the burden of daily symptoms.

Proposals are accepted year-round on a rolling basis. 

This program aims to support early career investigator-led Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and related research projects disrupted by changes in federal research funding.

Proposals are accepted on a rolling basis. 

The goal of this program is to generate large-scale, high-resolution proteoform datasets across Parkinson’s-relevant brain regions and matched biofluids to enable biomarker discovery and support the development of accessible, clinically meaningful fluid-based biomarkers.

Full Proposals Due: July 21, 2026, 5 p.m. US ET 

The GBA1-PD Research Catalyst Program seeks to build a deeper, globally integrated understanding of GBA1-associated Parkinson’s disease by aligning efforts across geographies and maximizing the value of shared datasets and research assets. Funding will support hypothesis-driven projects with an emphasis on integrative, cross-cohort analyses and the systematic characterization and standardization of models to enable broad use by the research community.

Full Proposals Due: July 22, 2026, 5 p.m. US ET 

The 2025 Parkinson's Biomarker report provides an overview of the Parkinson’s Disease (PD) biomarkers landscape, with a focus on biochemical and molecular based assays that MJFF staff is monitoring. It is intended to reflect biomarkers at various stages of development and validation for the indicated intended uses (e.g., diagnosis, monitoring, etc.)

This report tracks important therapies currently in clinical development for PD. It includes brief rationale and progress in key pipelines of therapeutic interest along with the development status of specific therapies. Where relevant, the report flags programs that have received financial or other significant enabling support from MJFF.

The Targets to Therapies Initiative aims to expand the number of promising, druggable biological targets within the Parkinson’s disease (PD) translational pipeline. We are currently collecting information on potential partners, and we look forward to leveraging the full expertise of our scientific community. Complete a short survey to express your interest in working with us on a specific target or targets. 

The LRRK2 Investigative Therapeutics Exchange (LITE) program aims to support new approaches to targeting LRRK2 with therapies, while also supporting the development of LRRK2-relevant clinical biomarkers to measure progress.

In 2010, The Michael J. Fox Foundation and a core group of academic scientists and industry partners launched the Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI) toward critically needed biological markers of Parkinson’s onset and progression. PPMI has since engaged thousands of partners — more sites; scientists and clinicians; industry experts; philanthropic partners; and, most importantly, study volunteers — to build a cornerstone of Parkinson’s research. Analysis from its open-access data set and available biosample library has deepened understanding of disease and informed the design of dozens of therapeutic trials.

In light of the breakthrough biomarker test that was validated in 2023, the alpha-synuclein seeding amplification assay (aSyn SAA), MJFF is investing heavily in validating quantitative biomarkers for PD. 

The Path to Prevention (P2P) platform trial is designed to catalyze clinical development for prodromal PD. P2P capitalizes on PPMI study infrastructure, expertise, and ongoing clinical and biomarker data collection to de-risk industry investments in pioneering therapies for individuals at risk of PD diagnosis.

Parkinson's disease and dementia with Lewy bodies are currently defined by their clinical features, with α-synuclein pathology as the gold standard to establish the definitive diagnosis. We propose that, given biomarker advances enabling accurate detection of pathological α-synuclein (ie, misfolded and aggregated) in CSF using the seed amplification assay, it is time to redefine Parkinson's disease and dementia with Lewy bodies as neuronal α-synuclein disease rather than as clinical syndromes. This major shift from a clinical to a biological definition of Parkinson's disease and dementia with Lewy bodies takes advantage of the availability of tools to assess the gold standard for diagnosis of neuronal α-synuclein (n-αsyn) in human beings during life. 

The FDA issued a “Letter of Support” in late Summer 2024, following multi-stakeholder collaboration amongst The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF) and the Critical Path Institute (C-Path), with both organizations supporting use of the biomarker for clinical trials and advancing new drugs for Parkinson’s disease (PD).  

In the letter, the FDA emphasizes that their support stems from significant evidence collected as part of MJFF’s flagship Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI), which first validated the αSyn-SAA biomarker in April 2023.  This is only the second Letter of Support issued for PD markers. 

The MJFF Research Tools Program works with the research community to understand the gaps in the research tool space, develop and distribute reagents and models to fill these gaps, and better understand the characteristics of available research tools.

MJFF makes data and biospecimens available from select Parkinson’s studies for discovery and validation research. 

We collaborate with the research community to collect and distribute a multitude of data resources for them to accelerate discovery and therapeutic development. 

Our Foundation invests in infrastructure and resources to equip research teams with the tools to recruit and retain participants for their trials. Ready to start recruiting?

The Michael J. Fox Foundation’s annual Parkinson’s Disease Therapeutics Conference (PDTC) is the only scientific conference around the world focused exclusively on Parkinson’s disease drug development. The 18th annual PDTC is taking place October 14-15, 2026, in New York City.

Each year, PDTC brings together 300 research and business development professionals from both academia and industry and showcases the most exciting and innovative research from MJFF’s research portfolio.

The Parkinson’s Disease Research Exchange (PDRx) is a global network of scientists from academic labs, pharma/biotech, CROs and investors focused on assessing the current state of Parkinson’s disease research, identifying key challenges, and how to translate findings into improved therapies. 

A free in-person educational event series that equips individuals with Parkinson’s disease and their caregivers with expert knowledge, practical resources, and community support. Sponsors can engage with attendees through the partner expo, receive on-site recognition, and gain visibility across MJFF platforms.

The Parkinson’s Disease Education Consortium (PDEC) brings together industry leaders to support MJFF’s educational resources for the Parkinson’s community. Through webinars, podcasts, expert content, and patient guides, PDEC helps empower people with Parkinson’s and their care partners with the knowledge they need to access better care, explore new treatments, and participate in research. Supporting PDEC provides your organization with valuable brand visibility across a range of high-quality educational content reaching the PD community and key stakeholders

MJFF’s annual event in NYC’s Central Park, attended by more than 5,000 members of the Parkinson’s community, brings people together to connect, celebrate, and raise funds for a cure. Increase your brand visibility, engage directly with participants, and demonstrate your commitment to the Parkinson’s community.

A nationwide series of community events that unites individuals with Parkinson’s, their supporters, and partners through exercise, connection, and fundraising. These events build local community ties, provide exposure across multiple U.S. markets, and support groundbreaking Parkinson’s research.