133353The development of novel compounds to seed a neurodegeneration drug discovery programmeClosedFeasibility StudiesInnovate UKWith a growing and ageing population, the burden of chronic diseases is the UK’s greatest societal challenge. Thus there is an urgent need for new medicines to address the increasing impact on the population of chronic neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis that lead to dementia, movement and other disorders. Around 850,000 people in the UK suffer from dementia alone, costing the healthcare system >£26bn per year. Very few treatments are currently available for people with neurodegenerative diseases, and those that do exist treat the symptoms or are effective at only certain disease stages. A drug target has been identified whose targeting has the potential for the treatment of such diseases. The objective of this project is to develop and characterise early chemical starting points that could form the basis of a programme towards the development of clinical drug candidates and ultimately potential treatments for a variety of both central and peripheral neurodegenerative diseases.