SciNeuro Pharmaceuticals to Accelerate Novel LRRK2 Therapeutic (SNP614) Development with an Award from The Michael J. Fox Foundation

ROCKVILLE, Md., Nov. 20, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- 

• SciNeuro has received funding of $5M from The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, as part of MJFF's Therapeutics Pipeline Program, to accelerate the preclinical development of the company's novel, next generation anti-sense oligonucleotide program (SNP614) targeting LRRK2.

SciNeuro Pharmaceuticals, a biotech company pioneering the development of novel treatments for neurodegenerative diseases, today announced it has received a research grant from The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research (MJFF) to advance the company's novel, LRRK2-targeted ASO program (SNP614) toward IND.

In tandem, SciNeuro has joined MJFF's LRRK2 Investigative Therapeutics Exchange (LITE) program. This initiative connects companies that are developing LRRK2-targeting therapies with academia, pharma, and biotech opinion leaders, and provides preclinical and clinical resources to establish best practices for advancing LRRK2 therapeutics. 

SNP614, SciNeuro's next-generation ASO program has demonstrated a potent knock-down efficacy and safety profile in preclinical models including non-human primate.  The funding will catalyze the ongoing development of SNP614 toward IND, positioning the program for clinical translation.

Min Li, PhD, Founder and CEO of SciNeuro, said: "We are honored to receive this award by The Michael J. Fox Foundation, a leader in Parkinson's Disease research, to further accelerate the development of SNP614, our LRRK2 program.  We believe that SNP614 demonstrates significant potential as a differentiated therapeutic strategy to bring benefit to patients in need".

"The Michael J. Fox Foundation is committed to accelerating the development of LRRK2-targeted therapies to deliver meaningful advances for people with Parkinson's disease," said Shalini Padmanabhan, PhD, senior vice president and head of translational research at The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research. "Through the LRRK2 Investigative Therapeutics Exchange, we are working collaboratively across industry and academia to share data, resources, and expertise that can de-risk and speed therapeutic development. We welcome SciNeuro to this global effort and look forward to advancing the development of their novel antisense oligonucleotide program toward clinical translation."

Dario Alessi, PhD, Director of the MRC Protein Phosphorylation Unit at the University of Dundee and LITE principal investigator, added "We are delighted to welcome SciNeuro to the LITE program. Their novel ASO approach to targeting LRRK2 is both scientifically exciting and strategically important to explore. By working together through LITE's shared resources, data, and expertise, we aim to accelerate SciNeuro's path toward clinical translation and advance the development of improved treatments for people living with Parkinson's disease."

About SciNeuro Pharmaceuticals 

SciNeuro Pharmaceuticals is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing groundbreaking therapies for neurodegenerative diseases. Since its founding in 2020, SciNeuro has built a portfolio of pipeline programs staged from discovery to clinical development by addressing three key disease-driving mechanisms of neurodegeneration – neurovascular inflammation, proteinopathy, and immune response. The company aims to develop disease-modifying treatment options for Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and other devastating CNS diseases. For more information, please visit www.scineuro.com.

About the LRRK2 Investigative Therapeutics Exchange (LITE) Program  

The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research (MJFF) launched LITE in 2024 to pave the way for new therapeutic approaches for LRRK2, connect companies that are developing LRRK2-targeting therapies with pharma and biotech opinion leaders, and provide preclinical and clinical resources to establish best practices for advancing LRRK2 targeted therapeutics. Mutations in the LRRK2 gene linked to Parkinson's disease were first discovered in 2004 and are now understood to be the most common cause of inherited PD. Built on MJFF's dedication to open science, LITE fosters international collaboration across more than 30 academic and clinical centers and more than a dozen companies. The initiative is governed by an active steering committee consisting of MJFF staff and field leaders and is implemented by the University of Dundee in the United Kingdom. The LITE program also will benefit from collaboration with the Aligning Science Across Parkinson's (ASAP) initiative-supported programs including the Collaborative Research Network (CRN), the Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI) and the Global Parkinson's Genetics Program (GP2). Learn more here.

SciNeuro media contact:

Jessie Yang: [email protected]

SOURCE SciNeuro Pharmaceuticals