Research Roundtable November 16, 2021November 16, 2021

KIF1A.ORG’s 13th Research Roundtable meeting, “Introduction to Treatment Accelerator Program and Presentation by NeuCyte,” was presented by Dr. Dominique Lessard, Chief Science Officer of KIF1A.ORG, and Dr. Ji Wu, Vice President of Business Development and Operations of NeuCyte.

Attendance

Who Is NeuCyte?

NeuCyte is a biotechnology company solely focused on neurological diseases and is known for their cell-based target identification and drug discovery platforms. Specializing in neurological diseases and drug discovery optimization, they are a perfect partner to help advance KIF1A.ORG’s therapeutic development strategy. Their KIF1A program is creating cell-based models of KAND to better understand the disorder, identify treatment strategies and test potential therapeutics. NeuCyte has joined the KIF1A.ORG community in its search for treatments and cures for KIF1A Associated Neurological Disorder as our first Treatment Accelerator Program partner and our collaborative projects kicked off in September of 2021. Learn more about our collaboration here.

Summary

• This meeting started with a brief presentation from Dr. Dom to review the reasoning and goals for KIF1A.ORG’s new Treatment Accelerator Program before introducing Dr. Ji Wu from NeuCyte.

• Dr. Wu then walked our Research Network members through NeuCyte’s mission and advanced technology platform.
• We were educated on how NeuCyte is able to take patient-derived cell lines, like the KAND patient lines that are available at the Coriell Institute, and create cellular model systems designed for gathering information needed for drug discovery.
• Specifically, we learned about NeuCyte’s past successful drug discovery projects with models of epilepsy and neurodegeneration.
• Lastly, the Research Network was given a progress update about our KIF1A.ORG/NeuCyte project collaboration where we were able to have an open discussion about the project’s aims, lessons learned in the project so far, and how we can work together to move this effort forward.
• After the presentation, we opened the floor for a brief Q&A where members of our audience, mainly pharmaceutical/biotech representatives, were able to ask questions and give feedback about the material presented in a constructive and helpful way.

Main Takeaways

• This meeting brought together many minds from our growing list of pharmaceutical/biotech (aka “industry”) collaborators. We are pleased to observe and nurture the growth of this branch of our Research Network and thank our industry collaborators for their engaged and open role in this meeting.
• We also appreciate the role of basic science and clinical investigators in helping us tailor project objectives and outcomes by providing input, suggestions, and up to date research and information on KIF1A and KAND.
• Input from the Research Network—the world’s leading KIF1A/KAND experts—is key for driving the progress of therapeutic development and drug discovery programs like the ones we are initiating at NeuCyte.