China and UK team up for Parkinson’s research

UK medical research charity MRC Technology has teamed up with Chinese pharmaceutical company Yabao as part of an effort to discover and develop treatments for Parkinson’s disease.

The licensing agreement will see Beijing-based Yabao receive exclusive rights to discover, develop and commercialise the therapeutics in China, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

MRC will retain the rights in all other markets, a statement by MRC revealed on Monday (November 24).

Financial terms of the agreement have not been disclosed.

Peng Wang, president of research and development at Yabao, said it was pleased to be collaborating with MRC.

“This opportunity for us to expand on leading research to develop innovative products is further evidence of Yabao's growing commitment to partner the best science to treat serious diseases in China," Wang said.

Michael Dalrymple, director of business development at MRC, said: “Parkinson’s is a debilitating and destructive disease. Together we hope to achieve more to bring innovative treatments to patients and improve their quality of life.”