We speak to Denali Therapeutics about overcoming the challenge of the blood-brain barrier to treat devastating neurodegenerative diseases.

In this episode, Denali’s founder Ryan Watts tells Scottish Mortgage’s manager Tom Slater why he thinks his company can succeed where big pharma has failed to develop effective treatments for neurological disorders. The two discuss why the biotech company is not only targeting Alzheimer’s but Parkinson’s and the motor neurone disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), among other conditions. In addition, they cover the importance of giving the firm’s staff a strong sense of mission and the need to be prepared for failures along the way.

Denali is tackling one of the greatest medical challenges of our time. Every day in the UK, 600 people develop dementia, and roughly one in 14 people over the age of 65 currently live with its effects. Alzheimer’s is the most common form of the condition, and no cure or treatment currently slows it down.

Denali’s development of a technology that effectively sneaks large molecules through the biological shield protecting our brains from toxins addresses a factor that has frustrated previous efforts to design viable drugs. It has already developed a promising treatment for Hunter Syndrome, a condition in which the body doesn’t break down sugar molecules causing damage to the brain, and it has candidate drugs for several other diseases in its pipeline.

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Denali Therapeutics announces key anticipated 2023 milestones for its therapeutic portfolio for neurodegeneration and lysosomal storage diseases

Credits:

• Presenter: Claire Shaw
• Audio production agency: Listen
• Producer: Phil Sansom
• Executive producer: Suzy Grant
• Production manager: Niamh Kidd
• Editorial lead: Malcolm Borthwick

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