Our hope for Parkinson’s research

This month is Parkinson's Awareness Month, and it’s a field we have been involved in for many years. In that time, a lot has changed about the way we study Parkinson’s disease, the way we work with patients, and the way we understand their daily realities.

For us at UCB, those changes have been deliberate, and they’re part of a three-step strategy that drives everything we do in Parkinson’s research.

Our first driving force is one of patient-centricity. It’s something that’s talked about in our industry, but for us at UCB, we are really trying to understand in great depth the impact that Parkinson’s has on people living with the condition and what their needs are. That starts first with an understanding of what they are going through day to day.

What’s key in understanding our individual’s experiences is that we’re not just looking at a movement disorder, but a broad systemic disorder with non-motor symptoms and many other aspects beyond the symptoms which are so often observed, something in the past that has been under appreciated. 

The second driver is deep understanding of the pathobiology behind Parkinson’s, which allows us to pursue differentiated hypotheses of several mechanisms in parallel. 

Our final element which is vital in our Parkinson’s strategy is the breadth of the scope of what we are trying to achieve and the important partnerships we're pursuing to make this happen. Vital relationships we have with patient and research organizations not only get us closer to patient needs, but also closer to our goal of delivering innovative medicines to suit these needs. 

So, as we mark Parkinson’s awareness month, and look towards another quarter-century of innovation and awareness raising, what do I hope for? In general terms I’d wish for some of the promising research that is out there to become a reality. I’d hope for a better quality of life for people living with Parkinson’s across the world, and that’s what drives us.