BioCentury
ARTICLE | Targets & Mechanisms

All in the family

September 12, 2013 7:00 AM UTC

PTEN induced putative kinase 1 is a tantalizing player in familial forms of Parkinson's disease, in which it is inactivated by mutation, but thus far the kinase has been a no-fly zone for drug development because of challenges in activating kinases. Mitokinin LLC thinks it finally has an angle to modulate the kinase after the company's cofounders identified an ATP analog that selectively activates the target.1

The company plans to develop the analog or optimized variants to treat PD...