Winston-Salem-based Targacept has been awarded a $304,000 grant from The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, the foundation's second to help the firm in the last six months.
This grant is to help Targacept develop Parkinson's detectors in nervous system cells -- drug biomarkers that could offer new ways for researchers to diagnose the disease earlier, track its progress and identify who might be appropriate subjects for clinical trials.
"Biomarker research could prove to be very valuable in the development of novel therapeutics for Parkinson's disease," said J. Donald deBethizy, Ph.D., Targacept's president and chief executive officer.
"This further highlights the breadth of our research platform and its application to many different diseases and disorders."