Our Approach to Research

Medical advances are inspiring us all to hope for so much from the new generation of medicine. The sudden burst of progress driven by major research programmes such as the Human Genome Project, and its successors, provide fresh understanding of the causes of disease and clues for cures. New treatments like gene therapy are providing clinicians with promising new options. And minor breakthroughs provide new hope in specific areas: new mechanisms of getting drugs past the brain’s delicate defences are critical for Parkinson’s Disease.

It seems that, finally, a cure for Parkinson’s is within sight.

But the reality is somewhat different. The mechanisms for developing new drugs simply are not keeping pace with advances in medicine. The grant-making processes remain slow-moving and conservative, with an in-built bias for clusters of well-documented drugs which means studying the same 40-year old ameliorative remedies over and over again. Patient’s need to be involved as active partners with the medical establishment to fast-track treatments.

Too much money is focused on marginal improvements to existing medicines. Not enough money is risked on revolutionary ideas that approach the problem from a fresh direction.  At a time when medical advances are coming from such a wide range of exciting new directions, it is time for a fresh approach to finding a cure.
Luckily for us, the shake-up is already under-way and there is renewed ambition from within the Parkinson’s community.

Across the board, patients are becoming more involved. There is also a new generation of scientists like Jon Brotchie, Peter Jenner and Steven Gill who, like the Silicon Valley entrepreneurs of the 1980s, are operating outside the mainstream companies working with new sources of capital and with sophisticated patient groups to develop exciting new approaches to age-old problems. And there is a new cohort of high profile philanthropists like Microsoft’s Bill Gates, Intel’s Andy Grove, Benchmark Capital’s Andrew Rachleff and Hollywood’s Michael J. Fox who have the money and clout to make things happen, acting where necessary to lead opinion and provide venture-style funds to worthwhile research when the market seems unable to keep up. And that’s where we come in. 

The Cure Parkinson’s Trust has put together a remarkable investment team who have already demonstrated a track-record of innovative, effective donations. But we are capable of more. We want to apply the latest principles of charitable giving to create a significant fund with City backing for fast-track investment, but with the possibility of a return to re-invest.

Secondly, we want mobilise patient power. Partly to provide researchers with informed patients who can provide valuable insight into this subtle disease. But also to lobby for changes in the research agenda so that the latest medical science can become useable drugs, quickly and cheaply. 

And that’s why we need your help. Because without a cure, we all suffer.
 
 
March 2008