A EUROPEAN research collaboration will support the development of an investigational Parkinson’s treatment, with plans to assess its potential in people recently diagnosed with the disease.
Herantis Pharma announced the launch of the HERMOD project on 11 November. Funded through Horizon Europe, the collaboration brings together clinical, academic and industry partners to support a phase II study of HER-096.
HER-096 is being developed as a potential disease-modifying therapy, with researchers investigating whether it could influence the underlying processes involved in Parkinson’s.
The experimental treatment is derived from cerebral dopamine neurotrophic factor, a protein associated with the protection of nerve cells. It is designed to cross the blood–brain barrier and target cellular stress pathways implicated in the disease.
The project also aims to combine clinical assessments with digital monitoring and imaging to build evidence about the treatment’s effects. Whether HER-096 can slow disease progression remains to be established.
According to Herantis, an earlier phase Ib trial found repeated doses of HER-096 to be generally safe and well tolerated, with evidence that the treatment crossed the blood–brain barrier.
That study included 24 people with Parkinson’s who received either HER-096 or placebo twice weekly for four weeks. It examined safety, tolerability and how the drug behaved in the body, alongside exploratory biological responses.
The findings support further investigation but do not establish that the treatment improves symptoms or changes the course of Parkinson’s.
The planned phase II study will recruit approximately 100 participants across European clinical sites.
Participants will enter a 36-week randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled period, followed by 24 weeks during which everyone will receive active treatment.
Researchers will assess efficacy, safety and tolerability, while exploring digital biomarkers that could help identify treatment effects and changes in disease progression.
Herantis expects to submit the clinical trial application in the final quarter of 2026, with first dosing anticipated in the first half of 2027, subject to financing and regulatory approvals.
Parkinson’s disease accounted for an estimated 93,000 deaths across Europe in 2023, according to Global Burden of Disease data published by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. The figures highlight the disease’s substantial burden and the need for research into treatments that could slow its progression.
This collaboration, which aims to do just that, includes partners in Sweden, Finland and Luxembourg, combining expertise in neurology, imaging and clinical research.
The European Commission lists funding of approximately €8 million for HERMOD, with the project scheduled to run until May 2030. Alongside evaluating HER-096, its research objectives include improving how changes in motor function are measured and exploring biomarkers of disease progression.
Featured image: Waran Photographic on AdobeStock
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