New funding and partnerships position Endlyz to target Parkinson’s at its cellular roots, not just its symptoms.
By the time symptoms of a neurodegenerative disease show up, the damage has already been building for years. Most treatments have focused on managing those symptoms (e.g., tremors, stiffness, memory loss) without truly changing the course of the disease.
Endlyz Therapeutics is following a different approach. Fresh from its Seed 2 financing round, the London-based biotech is stepping forward with a pipeline designed to intervene much earlier – inside the cell, where the first signs of breakdown begin [1].
Backed by a mix of pharmaceutical and mission-driven investors, including AbbVie, the Dementia Discovery Fund, Oxford Science Enterprises, and Parkinson’s UK, the company is positioning itself in a growing movement: root-cause neuroscience. It’s a space that doesn’t promise quick wins, but if it works, it could change how we think about aging brains altogether.
To understand Endlyz’s approach, it helps to zoom in – far past organs, past tissues, into the microscopic systems keeping our cells alive.
Every cell has what you might think of as a recycling center. Its job is to break down waste, clear out damaged components and keep everything running smoothly. When that system works, cells stay healthy. When it doesn’t, waste starts to pile up.
In neurons, that buildup is particularly dangerous. Unlike many other cells, neurons don’t easily regenerate. Once they’re damaged, the effects linger and accumulate.
Endlyz is targeting two proteins, ATP13A2 and ATP10B, that help regulate this internal cleanup process [2]. When these proteins falter, the system clogs. Over time, that dysfunction is linked to Parkinson’s and other neurodegenerative diseases.
Instead of trying to compensate for what’s already lost, Endlyz is attempting to restore that cleanup system, essentially helping cells take out their own trash again. It’s a simple idea, but one that’s taken years of biology to understand.
From symptom control to disease modification
“Our small-molecule ATP13A2-targeting series represents a ground-breaking approach to treating Parkinson’s disease,” said Dr Joanna Wolak, CEO and co-founder of Endlyz. “By restoring lysosomal function, we aim to slow or halt disease progression rather than merely address symptoms [2].”
Wolak said that the growing recognition of the role of endo-lysosomal pathology in neurodegeneration has positioned the company’s portfolio at the cutting edge of the field. She further expressed her conviction that the newly announced collaborations would establish Endlyz as a global leader in capitalizing on emerging therapeutic opportunities for treating neurodegenerative diseases.
The distinction she’s pointing to – between treating symptoms and modifying disease – is where much of modern longevity science is headed. It’s also where things get harder. Slowing a disease means intervening earlier, measuring outcomes that aren’t immediately visible and proving that what you’re doing today will matter years down the line. It’s a longer, riskier path, but potentially a more meaningful one.
Building science through collaboration
Endlyz isn’t trying to solve this alone. Its model leans heavily on collaboration, pulling together expertise from academia, biotech and AI.
A key part of that is its partnership with Professor Peter Vangheluwe at KU Leuven, a leading expert in lysosomal transporters, who joins as a scientific co-founder. His work, combined with drug discovery efforts from the Centre for Drug Design and Discovery, forms part of the scientific backbone of the company.
At the same time, collaborations with the University of Oxford, particularly through Professor Richard Wade-Martins, help connect early research to disease models that more closely reflect how Parkinson’s unfolds in real life.
Then there’s the AI layer. Through work linked to SandboxAQ, Endlyz is leveraging computational tools to accelerate the search for molecules that activate ATP10B. In a field where timelines can stretch into decades, even small gains in speed matter. It’s a reminder that modern drug discovery is about interconnected systems – scientific, technological and financial.
Alongside its Seed 2 round, Endlyz previously secured $2.2 million from the Michael J. Fox Foundation to support the development of biomarkers, tools that can help researchers see whether a drug is working before clinical symptoms shift. It addresses a very human problem: waiting.
In neurodegenerative diseases, patients and clinicians often have to wait years to know if a treatment is making a difference. Better biomarkers could shorten that feedback loop, making trials faster and more informative.
Longevity.Technology: Parkinson’s disease is often discussed in isolation, but it sits within a broader reality: as we live longer, the risk of neurodegeneration rises. Extending lifespan without addressing brain health risks extends the years lived with decline. Endlyz’s approach connects directly to longevity. By focusing on mechanisms that keep cells functional over time, such as the ability to clear waste, it touches on a process that goes beyond a single disease. Similar breakdowns are seen in Alzheimer’s and other age-related conditions.
In that sense, Endlyz’s work is about a shift in perspective. Aging is no longer just something to observe or endure; it’s something researchers are increasingly trying to intervene in, at the level where it begins. There’s still a long road ahead, and no guarantee that restoring cellular cleanup will translate into meaningful clinical outcomes, but the direction is already telling.
Photograph courtesy of Endlyz
[1] https://www.linkedin.com/posts/endlyztherapeutics_were-pleased-to-announce-that-endlyz-has-activity-7453071139876139008-ILnp/
[2] https://www.endlyz.com/news/endlyz-therapeutics-launches-and-unveils-its-portfolio-of-programmes-targeting-parkinsons-disease
