UB promotes a new therapeutic approach for the treatment of Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases
The University of Barcelona (UB) is promoting an innovative project to develop a new family of RTP801 protein inhibitors, a therapeutic target involved in neurodegenerative processes such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s disease. The initiative, selected in the Proof of Concept (PoC) call of the Innovation Promotion Fund (F2I), is led by Dr Cristina Malagelada Grau, professor at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences of UB.
The project, entitled “First-in-class RTP801 inhibitors for neurodegenerative diseases”, is one of the four projects selected in this edition of the F2I grants and will receive €25,000 to advance the preclinical validation of the technology. The research aims to develop the first known RTP801 inhibitors as potential disease-modifying treatments for neurodegenerative diseases, an unmet medical need that still lacks effective solutions.
A new strategy to fight Alzheimer’s disease
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia and one of the leading causes of dependency and mortality worldwide. Despite advances in recent years, current treatments only partially relieve symptoms and are unable to halt disease progression.
For more than twenty years, Dr Malagelada has studied the role of the RTP801 protein in neurodegenerative diseases. Researchers have observed that this protein is elevated in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients and that its inhibition in animal models improves cognitive function and reduces neuroinflammation.
“Our idea was to find a drug capable of inhibiting this protein, because we have seen that RTP801 plays a toxic role in neurons,” explains Pol Garcia Segura, member of the research team. Using computational simulations and virtual screening techniques, the team has identified several molecules capable of binding to RTP801, three of which have already shown promising activity in experimental studies.
Dr Cristina Malagelada highlights that the project is the result of two decades of basic research and collaborative work. “It is very rewarding to see how a research line initiated twenty years ago can begin to move towards a real therapeutic application,” she notes. “We all share the same goal: to find a molecule capable of improving patients’ quality of life.”
From basic research to proof of concept
Thanks to the F2I grant, the research team will be able to advance the optimisation of the identified molecules and validate their potential in more advanced preclinical models. The project includes pharmacokinetic studies, brain permeability assessments and biophysical characterisation, as well as new experimental approaches to better understand the compounds’ mechanism of action. At this stage, the team is working closely with Dr Diego Muñoz-Torrero, Full Professor at the Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences of UB, with the aim of progressively improving the identified molecules and advancing towards future therapeutic candidates.
“The F2I grants are a very important boost because they allow us to carry out experiments that until now we could not tackle and to lay the foundations for progressing towards more comprehensive animal models,” explains Dr Malagelada. The team is also working with the perspective of protecting intellectual property and exploring future collaborations with pharmaceutical companies and investors.
Connecting research with society
The F2I Proof of Concept grants are aimed at UB researchers leading transfer projects in which the University owns or co-owns both the background knowledge and technology, as well as the results for which funding is requested.
The F2I programme is part of the Bosch i Gimpera Foundation’s knowledge transfer strategy, which works to connect UB research with industry and generate innovations with social, economic and environmental impact.
This activity is part of the project “Implementation programme of the UB–FBG Knowledge Transfer Plan (2025–2028), IMPACTE UB-FBG” (operation code UR68-8121), co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) of the European Union, with the support of the Department of Research and Universities of the Government of Catalonia, within the framework of the Catalonia ERDF Programme 2021–2027.