I am following IKT148009 development closely. I think it is one of the most potentially interesting new drugs in trial . There is rock solid science behind it. The company had a methodology for identifying treatments for the disease that was specific and targetted.
I caution against a knee-jerk reaction to mouse research as discussed in this video. They did not "make PD" with MPTP and then treat the artificial damage created by that poison. They demonstrated that they could make the disease proper from start to finish by triggering a particular pathway.
They also cracked the Beta Amyloid / alpha synuclein mystery - always showing up at the scene of the accident, but not causing it. What results is a coherent, integrated model of PD progression and development, which is internally consistent
The bit I really like is the comment about administration of this molecule in animals with a fair bit of progression, about the equivalent of 10 years progression in humans - what they found was...
not only did it halt the disease progression (as intended), but to their surprise it reversed the damage so far to date. "So while we've called it neurodegeneration, You don't actually lose the neurons. They're dysfunctional , but they're not gone."
It was disappointing the phase 2 trial referred to in this video was halted by the FDA - but that hold is now lifted. It's probably set development back close to a year. But they are not hanging about getting the trial work done, and it is exciting. Well I think so!