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May 14, 2006 - May 20, 2006 Micheal J. Fox Foundation awards funding to Israeli company May. 14 - NeuroDerm Ltd., based out of Ofakim, Israel, has been awarded $490,000 by the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's research. The award, made under the foundations clinical discoveries program, will support clinical work to develop a new transdermal skin patch for continuous delivery of levodopa, the natural precursor of dopamine, which is deficient in Parkinson's disease. The development is innovative, as researchers believe that dyskinesias - disruptive, jerky movements associated with long-term levodopa therapy - result from the sharp fluctuations in dopamine blood levels that occur when levodopa is given orally. NeuroDerm's system is based on a proprietary formulation involving a prodrug, levodopa ester (LDE), which has been able to maintain steady levodopa levels in animal models. NeuroDerm believes that their patch should be able to minimize or even reverse dyskinesias and other disabling late motor complications. "This Clinical Discovery Program grant is part of our focus on speeding highly relevant treatments to people living with Parkinson's disease," said Deborah W. Brooks, president and CEO of The Michael J. Fox Foundation. "We believe that improved delivery through continuous levodopa administration, such as NeuroDerm's prospective patch aims to achieve, could potentially result in a significant improvement in patients' day-to-day lives." ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn