Precision life science company Macrogen will collaborate with US-based Lifex Biolabs on Parkinson’s disease treatment research, Macrogen announced Monday.

This is a follow-up to Macrogen’s strategic investment in Lifex in 2020.

Under the joint research partnership, Macrogen will sift out biomarkers for Parkinson’s, using its DNA sequence analysis technology.

Lifex will use the biomarkers identified by Macrogen to develop Parkinson’s treatments.

Biomarkers are tracking points that signal changes within the body. They can be discerned through cells, veins, proteins and DNA. The biomarker method is understood as an effective way to diagnose diseases such as cancer, cerebral infarction and dementia.

Lifex had in-licensed a novel drug candidate for Parkinson’s from Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University and has been developing the pipeline through a preclinical trial designed to end by 2023.

By Lim Jeong-yeo (kaylalim@heraldcorp.com)