Organo Therapeutics' brain organoids enable mechanistic elucidation of Priavoid's drug candidate for synucleinopathies
- Jul 7
- 2 min read
19 Mars 2026
The drug discovery company Priavoid GmbH, that develops innovative drug candidates for neurodegenerative disorders, presented preclinical proof-of-concept data for its orally available all-d-peptide candidate for synucleinopathies - PRI-101.
Synucleinopathies, such as Parkinson’s disease, dementia with Lewy bodies and multiple system atrophy are progressive, multifactorial, and heterogeneous neurodegenerative disorders with limited treatment options. Despite important investment in research, the vast majority of treatments approved in animal models of Parkinson’s disease did not demonstrate convincing benefits in clinical trials. This poor result is in great part due to inter-species differences in brain physiology, complexity of disease mechanisms and heterogeneity of disease etiology.
Developed using Priavoid’s proprietary detangler platform, PRI-101 was designed to target and disassemble α-synuclein (α-syn) aggregates, which play a key role in the disease pathology and in the induction of toxicity that leads to neurodegeneration. By detangling α-syn, PRI-101 has the potential to be a first-in-class disease-modifying treatment for synucleinopathies.
Studies in human brain organoid models of synucleinopathies, developed by Organo Therapeutics, played a key role in investigating the impact of PRI-101, highlighting the importance of mechanistic studies in human-based preclinical platforms. By engineering iPSC-derived human brain organoid and assembloid systems that replicate the disease pathology, Luxembourg-based Organo Therapeutics aims to accelerate the development of therapeutics that target complex brain disorders such as Parkinson's. Specifically, the studies in Organo's in vitro disease model showed that PRI-101 promoted the conversion of α-syn aggregates to native, non-toxic forms.
“Parkinson’s disease affects more than 6 million people worldwide and remains an area of profound unmet medical need, with patients still lacking therapies that meaningfully alter the course of disease,” said Dr. Antje Willuweit, Director Preclinical Development at Priavoid GmbH. “Taken together, these preclinical data suggest that PRI-101 has the potential to be a first-in-class therapeutic candidate with disease-modifying potential for Parkinson’s disease and other related synucleinopathies. We look forward to advancing this candidate towards the clinic to address a substantial need for new disease-modifying therapeutic options.”
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