Selonterra Inc, a California-based biotechnology company developing therapies for neurodegenerative disorders, announced on Tuesday that it has received second grant award worth USD2.5m from The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research (MJFF).

This research funding is intended to allow the company to strengthen the link of its novel targets to clinical dysfunctions in Parkinson's disease and to advance its small molecules towards clinical candidates.

Selonterra's founder and CEO, Roman Urfer, PhD, said: "We are very thankful for the continued grant support by The Michael J. Fox Foundation to build on our discoveries to make a meaningful impact on patients with Parkinson's disease."

Anne Urfer-Buchwalder, PhD, Selonterra's founder and president, said: "Parkinson's disease has a strong genetic component. The presence of shared dysfunctional pathways with other neurodegenerative disorders led us towards a basic common underlying mechanism operational in cognitive impairment. With this new funding we will develop our small molecules to address these challenges for the benefit of Parkinson's disease patients."