Biogen and Denali Parkinson’s Drug Fails Randomized Trial

Biogen and Denali Therapeutics said Thursday that their experimental therapy for Parkinson’s disease failed to slow the degenerative brain disorder in a randomized trial. The study enrolled 648 adults with Parkinson’s who received either a placebo or a pill targeting a protein called LRRK2.

Researchers discovered in 2004 that mutations in the LRRK2 gene can cause a rare, inherited form of the disease.

2018, another group of scientists showed that blocking the LRRK2 protein might benefit all patients with Parkinson’s. Thursday’s results represent a significant setback to that approach. The companies did not release additional details on safety or secondary outcomes in the initial announcement.