A Finnish biotech is making progress on Parkinson's disease with support from The Michael J. Fox Foundation

Parkinsons disease impacts some 10 million people worldwide and current approaches to treating the condition almost exclusively focus on addressing symptoms – there is, as of yet, no cure. One Finnish biotech, however, is not focused on alleviating symptoms but on modifying the course of the disease itself. Their hope is to be able to stop and even reverseneurodegenerative diseases like Parkinsons, and they have the backing of significant players, such as the Michael J Fox Foundation, to do just that.This week I spoke to Antti Vuolanto, CEO of Herantis Pharma, about the work his company is doing, the science behind their approach, and the advantages and challenges of working in biotech in the Nordics.01:10               Meet Antti Vuolanto05:10               The biotech landscape in the Nordics07:07               Herantis Pharma and its mission09:38               Treating symptoms versus disease modification13:31               Herantis in relation to other Parkinson’s disease companies15:47               HER-09626:24               The global burden of Parkinson’s disease and the unmet need28:56               The role of patient and advocacy groups30:11               The future of Parkinson’s disease treatment31:52               How the Nordics can develop and expand their biotech sector36:33               Stay up to date on Herantis and their workInterested in being a sponsor of an episode of our podcast? Discover how you can get involved here! Stay updated by subscribing to our newsletterTo dive deeper into the topic: Finland: Pushing biotech forward in the land of a thousand lakesParkinson’s disease: biotech’s pursuit for more therapies The stem cell race for Parkinson’s disease: Recent studies show significant promise