Collaboration supports global LRRK2 Investigative Therapeutics Exchange (LITE) to accelerate development of reliable biomarkers for Parkinson’s disease 

April 14, 2026 – ZURICH, Switzerland – Life Science Newswire – Biognosys Group, a leading provider of proteomics, metabolomics, and lipidomics solutions, today announced a major collaboration with The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF) to advance the development of highly sensitive and quantitative biomarker assays for Parkinson’s disease. The collaboration supports MJFF’s LRRK2 Investigative Therapeutics Exchange (LITE), a global initiative designed to accelerate the development of therapies and biomarkers targeting leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2), the most common genetic risk factor for late-onset Parkinson’s disease.

LRRK2 has emerged as one of the most compelling targets in Parkinson’s research, with a growing number of therapeutic modalities in development aimed at reducing excessive LRRK2 activity. These approaches have the potential to benefit not only individuals carrying LRRK2 mutations, but also a broader population of people with Parkinson’s disease who share dysregulation of the same biological pathway. However, a major barrier to clinical progress has been the lack of robust, sensitive, and quantitative biomarkers capable of reliably measuring LRRK2 expression level and activity as a pharmacodynamic readout of therapeutic treatment.

Developing such assays has proven notoriously challenging due to low-abundance signals, biological complexity, and the need for high quantitative precision across diverse clinical sample types. Through this collaboration, Biognosys will utilize the SISCAPA^® and TrueSignature ultra-sensitive targeted proteomics platforms to help overcome these challenges and support the potential deployment in clinical trials of LRRK2 and related downstream biomarkers.

“Successful clinical development requires not only promising therapeutic approaches, but also reliable tools to measure whether those therapies are having their intended biological effect,” said Oliver Rinner, PhD, Senior Vice President at Biognosys Group. “By combining Biognosys’ expertise in highly sensitive, quantitative proteomics with MJFF’s collaborative LITE framework, we aim to accelerate the development of biomarkers that can meaningfully guide Parkinson’s drug development and de-risk clinical trials.”

The LRRK2 Investigative Therapeutics Exchange (LITE) is a comprehensive, large-scale global collaboration that brings together more than 50 academic, industry, and clinical partners. LITE participants commit from the outset to share resources, biosamples, tools, and early findings in near real time. This open-science approach creates an environment where promising ideas can be rapidly evaluated and advanced from hypothesis to practical therapeutic application.

“Through LITE, the Michael J. Fox Foundation supports collaborative efforts to develop reliable biomarkers that can measure target engagement and biological response in Parkinson’s disease,” said Shalini Padmanabhan, PhD, Senior Vice President of Discovery and Translational Research at MJFF. “Investments in sensitive assay development are essential for strengthening the tools needed to advance clinical research and evaluate emerging therapeutic strategies.”