Cure Parkinson’s and Van Andel Institute are delighted to announce that Professor David K. Simon, of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, Boston, United States has accepted the position as chair of the International Linked Clinical Trials (iLCT) Committee.
This prestigious committee sits at the head of the iLCT programme, one of the largest drug repurposing and repositioning initiatives in medical research. Professor Simon will be supported by Professor Camille Carroll, University of Plymouth, UK, as co-chair.
It is truly an honor to work with this wonderful group of colleagues and to help with this extremely important effort led by Cure Parkinson’s.
Professor David Simon
Professor Simon succeeds Professor Patrik Brundin who recently moved from Van Andel Institute to lead the Therapeutic Area for Movement Disorders worldwide, in the Neuroscience and Rare Diseases division of Roche in Basel, Switzerland
Patrik has guided the discussion of more than 250 detailed dossiers of drugs with the potential to change the progression of Parkinson’s, enabling the committee to prioritise more than 45 drugs for clinical testing. His inspirational leadership has been the backbone of the iLCT process to date. Working with a phenomenal committee of world leading experts he has enabled iLCT to grow into the flourishing programme that it is today.
Helen Matthews, Deputy CEO, Cure Parkinson’s
The iLCT committee, comprising leading Parkinson’s preclinical and clinical specialists, meets annually to evaluate and prioritise detailed drug and compound dossiers that have been written and compiled by Cure Parkinson’s.
Now in its 10th year, the iLCT Committee has evaluated more than 250 drug dossiers, and prioritised over 45 drugs to move forward into clinical trials. Currently, over 3,000 people with Parkinson’s have been involved in the 45 iLCT evaluated therapies. A recent report published by Journal of Parkinson’s Disease showed that nearly 40% of all disease-modifying clinical trials currently taking place have been previously assessed by the International Linked Clinical Trials initiative.