The International Linked Clinical Trials (iLCT) programme

This unique programme of research – the brain-child of Dr Richard Wyse, Cure Parkinson’s Director of Clinical Development – evaluates, ranks and prioritises potentially disease-modifying treatments for clinical trial in people with Parkinson’s.

Cure Parkinson’s set up the International Linked Clinical trials (iLCT) programme in an effort to speed up the search for disease-modifying treatments for Parkinson’s with the ultimate aim of making these treatments a reality for people living with Parkinson’s. The iLCT is a global programme centered around an annual two-day meeting at which a committee of over 20 world-leading Parkinson’s experts evaluate, rank, and prioritise 15-20 drugs and compounds – many from other disease areas – with the potential to be repurposed or repositioned to modify the progression of Parkinson’s. These drugs are presented as dossiers and the iLCT committee, using this background information, then ranks the drugs; those drugs that are ranked highly are ‘prioritised’ to move into testing in clinical trials for people with Parkinson’s.

Initially, the committee was formed to review ‘repurposed’ drugs; these drugs offer an advantage as they already have extensive safety information alongside the actual experiences of people taking the medications for other diseases – meaning their pathway into clinical trials for Parkinson’s is accelerated. In recent meetings, the committee has begun to evaluate newer drugs that are in development for use in Parkinson’s as well as other neurodegenerative diseases.

Cure Parkinson’s collaborates with other organisations to fund and support trials; VAI and the John Black Charitable Foundation are involved along with support from other organisations like The Michael J Fox Foundation and Parkinson’s UK. When funding is sought, Cure Parkinson’s often also invests in additional studies to improve the main trial, like testing new measurement methods, genetic testing or biomarker assessment. This approach has proven extremely worthwhile with Cure Parkinson’s and its funding partners investing £10.3 million so far; and leveraging funding from outside sources, about 10 times more, for trials of the most important potential treatments prioritised by the iLCT committee.

The recent iLCT meeting took take place at Cumberland Lodge, Windsor where we welcomed leading scientists, physicians and advocates from around the world.

As a result of the programme’s global reputation, the iLCT committee’s evaluation of potential therapies for Parkinson’s often also leads towards further clinical investigation of these therapies by other interested parties around the world.

Our goal is to ensure more potentially disease-modifying treatments for people living with Parkinson’s move into clinical trial and we welcome collaboration with this effort.

There are numerous agents that seem quite promising for potential disease modification in Parkinson’s, and so it’s important to consider the strengths and weaknesses of each agent in the context of others when choosing which should be prioritized for moving forward in clinical trials in Parkinson’s. The iLCT committee has done an outstanding job with this difficult task. I’m honored to be part of this remarkable team.

Professor David K. Simon, iLCT chair