A Finnish biotech is making progress on Parkinson's disease with support from The Michael J. Fox Foundation

Beyond Biotech - the podcast from Labiotech

Parkinsons disease impacts some 10 million people worldwide and current approaches to treating the condition almost exclusively focus on addressing symptoms – there is, as of yet, no cure. One Finnish biotech, however, is not focused on alleviating symptoms but on modifying the course of the disease itself. Their hope is to be able to stop and even reverseneurodegenerative diseases like Parkinsons, and they have the backing of significant players, such as the Michael J Fox Foundation, to do just that.

This week I spoke to Antti Vuolanto, CEO of Herantis Pharma, about the work his company is doing, the science behind their approach, and the advantages and challenges of working in biotech in the Nordics.

01:10 Meet Antti Vuolanto

05:10 The biotech landscape in the Nordics

07:07 Herantis Pharma and its mission

09:38 Treating symptoms versus disease modification

13:31 Herantis in relation to other Parkinson’s disease companies

15:47 HER-096

26:24 The global burden of Parkinson’s disease and the unmet need

28:56 The role of patient and advocacy groups

30:11 The future of Parkinson’s disease treatment

31:52 How the Nordics can develop and expand their biotech sector

36:33 Stay up to date on Herantis and their work

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To dive deeper into the topic:

• Finland: Pushing biotech forward in the land of a thousand lakes
• Parkinson’s disease: biotech’s pursuit for more therapies
• The stem cell race for Parkinson’s disease: Recent studies show significant promise

Chapters

1. A Finnish biotech is making progress on Parkinson's disease with support from The Michael J. Fox Foundation (00:00:00)

2. Meet Antti Vuolanto (00:01:10)

3. The biotech landscape in the Nordics (00:05:10)

4. Herantis Pharma and its mission (00:07:07)

5. Treating symptoms versus disease modification (00:09:38)

6. Herantis in relation to other Parkinson’s disease companies (00:13:31)

7. HER-096 (00:15:47)

8. The global burden of Parkinson’s disease and the unmet need (00:26:24)

9. The role of patient and advocacy groups (00:28:56)

10. The future of Parkinson’s disease treatment (00:30:11)

11. How the Nordics can develop and expand their biotech sector (00:31:52)

12. Stay up to date on Herantis and their work (00:36:33)