AstronauTx has received research funding from The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research and Parkinson's UK to investigate sleep-based treatments for Parkinson's disease. The biotechnology company, which develops therapeutics for neurological disorders by improving sleep architecture, will use the grants to explore whether enhancing restorative sleep mechanisms can reduce pathological protein accumulation linked to Parkinson's. The Michael J. Fox Foundation grant will support research into a potential disease-modifying treatment targeting prodromal Parkinson's disease, particularly REM Sleep Behaviour Disorder, an early indicator of the condition. Meanwhile, Parkinson's UK is funding collaborative research with University College London to examine whether increasing slow-wave sleep can enhance the brain's natural waste-clearance pathways. AstronauTx is preparing its lead programme for clinical development in 2027.

AstronauTx awarded research funding from The Michael J. Fox Foundation and Parkinson's UK to explore sleep-based approaches for Parkinson's disease. September 22, 2026 03:00 ET | Source: AstronauTx * MJFF grant will support development of a potential disease-modifying treatment for prodromal Parkinson's disease by targeting restorative sleep mechanisms * Parkinson's UK-funded research with University College London (UCL) will further explore the link between enhanced slow-wave sleep and glymphatic flow, the brain's natural waste-clearance mechanism LONDON, Sept. 22, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) - AstronauTx Ltd ("AstronauTx"), a biotechnology company developing novel therapeutics for Alzheimer's disease and other neurological disorders by improving sleep architecture, today announces that it has received funding from The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research (MJFF) and that Parkinson's UK is funding an additional complementary research effort in collaboration with University College London (UCL). The MJFF-funded project, titled 'Ligand-Gated Ion Channel Modulation as a Disease-Modifying Treatment for Prodromal Synucleinopathies', will explore whether enhancing restorative sleep mechanisms using novel compounds developed by AstronauTx can reduce the accumulation of pathological proteins linked to Parkinson's disease. In particular, REM Sleep Behaviour Disorder (RBD) is a recognised early indicator of Parkinson's disease, and AstronauTx aims to generate data supporting the development of one of its compounds as a potential disease-modifying treatment for this prodromal stage of Parkinson's disease, where there may be a significant opportunity to influence disease progression. The MJFF grant was awarded through the Foundation's Parkinson's Disease Therapeutics Pipeline Program, which supports preclinical and translational research aimed at evaluating promising therapeutic approaches and advancing them toward clinical development. "Restorative sleep mechanisms are an emerging area of interest for therapeutic development in Parkinson's disease, with the potential to offer new opportunities to intervene earlier in the disease process," said Shalini Padmanabhan, Ph.D., Senior Vice President and Head of Translational Research at The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research. "The studies supported through this award will generate important preclinical evidence to evaluate this therapeutic approach and help determine its potential to advance toward clinical development." In parallel, Parkinson's UK is funding a complementary project with UCL, led by Ian Harrison and supported by AstronauTx, to investigate whether increasing slow-wave sleep can enhance the brain's natural waste-clearance pathways. The Parkinson's UK-funded study, titled 'Measuring the Effects of Increasing Slow-Wave Sleep Using a Novel Mechanism on Glymphatic Transport of Alpha-Synuclein in a Parkinson's Disease Mouse Model', will evaluate whether a novel sleep-enhancing compound that increases slow-wave activity and enhances glymphatic flow results in the removal of the neurotoxic protein alpha-synuclein from the brain. Jane Rhodes, Chief Executive Officer of AstronauTx, commented: "We are grateful for the support from The Michael J. Fox Foundation and Parkinson's UK as we investigate the relationship between restorative sleep mechanisms and Parkinson's disease and evaluate the therapeutic potential of these approaches. By targeting the mechanisms that regulate restorative sleep, we aim to unlock a completely new approach to treating Parkinson's disease and other neurological diseases at their earliest stages, and we believe this grant-funded work has the potential to directly support the development of new disease-modifying approaches for patients." Together, these research programmes will provide insights into the relationship between sleep biology and Parkinson's disease, supporting AstronauTx's broader mission to develop therapeutics targeting sleep architecture to treat neurological disease. Alongside these grant-funded Parkinson's disease research programmes, the Company is preparing its lead programme for clinical development in 2027, further advancing its pipeline of first-in-class therapies targeting sleep architecture as a novel treatment approach for Alzheimer's disease and related neurological conditions. About AstronauTx Ltd AstronauTx is targeting sleep architecture as a therapeutic approach to treat neurological disease. Our thesis is that changes in sleep architecture underpin disease and that sleep is a modifiable risk factor for chronic neurodegeneration. By improving slow-wave sleep quality, we aim to slow cognitive decline associated with aging and dementia. Our approach is grounded in a combination of well-defined, quantifiable biological endpoints, such as EEG-based sleep architecture metrics and measurable improvements in cognitive function and glymphatic flow. Founded by SV Health's Dementia Discovery Fund, AstronauTx completed a £48 million/$61 million Series A financing in October 2023, led by the Novartis Venture Fund, with participation from SV's Dementia Discovery Fund, MPM BioImpact, Brandon Capital, EQT Life Sciences and Bristol Myers Squibb. For more information, visit our website.

Michael J. Fox and Harrison Ford team up with one message: 'keep showing up. Published: Sep 03, 2026 07:15 PM EDT Michael J. Fox and Harrison Ford are teaming up again - this time off-screen - for a new public service video aimed at helping people support a friend or loved one diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. The video, titled "So... Your Friend Has Parkinson's," was released Sept. 2 by The Michael J. Fox Foundation in partnership with Maximum Effort, the entertainment company founded by foundation board member Ryan Reynolds. In it, Fox offers Ford - playfully cast as the "friend" learning the ropes - a simple set of guidelines for how to show up for someone facing the disease. "People worry so much about saying the wrong thing that they stop saying anything," Fox says in the video. By the end, Ford repeats the advice back: "Don't make it weird. Start simple. Help, don't fix. Keep showing up." Fox then jokingly declares Ford "officially qualified to be a friend." The pairing builds on the real-life bond the two actors formed filming Apple TV+'s "Shrinking," where Ford plays a therapist living with Parkinson's and Fox guest stars as a fellow patient who becomes his mentor and friend. Fox, who was diagnosed with Parkinson's in 1991 at age 29, has spent over two decades turning his own diagnosis into a platform for hope, raising billions of dollars for research through his foundation. At its heart, the video's message reflects a truth worth remembering far beyond Parkinson's: love isn't complicated, and presence matters more than perfect words. Sometimes the most faithful thing a person can do for someone hurting is simply not leave.