Genzyme, Calif. firm seek Parkinson's drug

At the Bio International Convention in Boston in May, actor Michael J. Fox appealed to scientists and investors to aggressively translate research into creative treatments for Parkinson's, a disease he has fought for over a decade. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Genzyme Corp. will team up with a California company to develop a treatment for Parkinson’s disease that employs gene therapy.

Genzyme, a Cambridge biotechnology firm, today said it’s making a $25 million upfront payment to Ceregene Inc., of San Diego.

Ceregene will also be entitled to development-related milestone payments of up to $125 million, the companies said.

The partnership will focus on CERE-120, Ceregene’s primary program to find a treatment for Parkinson’s, which affects at least 1 million people in the United States.

The disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that often impairs motor skills and speech.

Gene therapy is a controversial method of injecting genes into cells to make proteins that can fight disease, typically using a genetically engineered virus to carry the gene to the cell.

So far, no gene therapy product has been approved. Research shriveled after the 1999 death of Jesse Gelsinger, an 18-year-old participant in a gene therapy clinical trial.
(Chris Reidy, Globe staff/Reuters)