Bristol-Myers Squibb and Vanderbilt University ally on Parkinson’s research

Bristol-Myers Squibb has announced a new collaboration with Vanderbilt University that will explore a potential new avenue for treating Parkinson's disease.

The collaboration will focus on the discovery, development and commercialisation of positive allosteric modulators, novel therapies acting on the mGluR4 glutamate receptor.

Drug candidates will be identified by the Vanderbilt Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery with support from the Michael J Fox Foundation, with Bristol-Myers Squibb to develop the resulting products commercially.

Vanderbilt University will receive an upfront payment and multi-year research funding, as well as being entitled to future milestone-based fees and royalties.

Francis Cuss, senior vice-president for research at Bristol-Myers Squibb, said: "We are thrilled to have the opportunity to work with the Vanderbilt Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery's highly regarded scientists and laboratories to potentially find a way to help patients with Parkinson's disease."

Earlier this month, the company allied with nine other pharmaceutical companies to form TransCelerate BioPharma, a new joint initiative that will aim to accelerate the drug development process.