NKGen Biotech, Inc., a biotechnology company harnessing the power of the body’s immune system through the development of natural killer (NK) cell therapies, announced a collaboration with the Parkinson’s Foundation that will focus on ways to help accelerate NKGen’s clinical program using its novel autologous NK cell therapy (SNK01) for the treatment of advanced Parkinson’s disease (PD) through its network of clinical partners and donors.
“Recent research has shown that NK cells can help remove alpha-synuclein proteins, reduce autoreactive T cell generated inflammation, and remove damaged neurons. We believe our non-genetically modified, enhanced, and expanded NK cells (SNK01) can provide an entirely new therapeutic approach to Parkinson’s disease which currently lacks effective disease modifying modalities,” said Paul Y. Song, MD, Vice Chairman of NKGen Biotech. “We are very impressed with the Parkinson’s Foundation’s holistic approach towards improving patient care and supporting cutting-edge research. We are confident that they will be a great partner for us as we bring our treatment for Parkinson’s disease to the clinic in 2023.”
“The Parkinson’s Foundation has a strong commitment to identify and accelerate promising scientific breakthroughs in the treatment of PD,” said John L. Lehr, President and CEO of the Parkinson’s Foundation. “We are looking to support novel innovative approaches in PD, and we are attracted to NKGen’s unwavering commitment to bring their NK cell therapy to the clinic very quickly.”