Empowered Patient Podcast

Dr. Howard Federoff, Scientific Co-Founder, Chief Medical Officer, and Executive Vice President of Corporate Medicine and Science at Kenai Therapeutics, is developing a cell therapy for Parkinson's disease that involves transplanting IPSCs into the brain to replace lost dopamine neurons.  The goal is not to cure the underlying cause of the disease, but to restore motor function and reverse the disease's progression. Initial clinical focus was on patients with moderate to moderate-severe idiopathic Parkinson's, showing efficacy and safety, leading to expanding the study to include earlier-stage and familial forms of the disease. Howard explains, "Kenai was formed about three and a half years ago, and the intention is to develop a cellular product, which means that what is manufactured will be eligible in the right patient groups who have a diagnosis of Parkinson's to be placed into the brain. And consequent to its placement, the cells will then form new circuits, dopamine circuits that are lost owing to the d