Teaming Up Against Parkinson’s: Cure Parkinson’s Backs Bold Combination Therapy Approach

In August 2025, Cure Parkinson’s shared a shift in how researchers are tackling the disease: instead of focusing on one single treatment at a time, they’re calling for creative drug teamwork—combination therapies—that hit Parkinson’s from multiple angles simultaneously. This effort stems from a simple yet powerful idea: the brain is complicated, and tackling a condition as varied and subtle as Parkinson’s might just require more than one weapon in the fight.  To bring this vision to life, Cure Parkinson’s is launching a special £2 million fundraising push in October 2025. The grant will support both laboratory (preclinical) studies and human clinical trials, with a particular interest in projects that are already on the cusp of human testing. In those lab projects, priority will go to proposals expected to enter clinical testing within about five years. It’s a practical, forward-looking decision: anything that stands a realistic chance of reaching people with Parkinson’s soon is exactly what this funding should help push along.  The reason behind this new approach is strikingly human. Helen Matthews, CEO of Cure Parkinson’s, put it elegantly: “By encouraging researchers to consider combination therapies we hope to tackle Parkinson’s from two or more different angles and have a greater impact on progression of the condition.”  On a personal level, Dr Kevin McFarthing, a biochemist living with Parkinson’s, shared a feeling many might relate to: each person with Parkinson’s is unique, and our biological differences mean that a single drug may not be enough. That’s why opening a “new front” with combination therapies is so promising: it’s recognition that one size rarely fits all when you’re dealing with a condition as individual as this.  If you’re following Parkinson’s research, you may already know that the scientific community has long explored combination treatments in other fields—like cancer and heart disease—and that we already use combined drugs to ease symptoms. The well-known co-careldopa, for instance, is a mix of levodopa and carbidopa, carefully partnered so that more of the helpful drug reaches the brain. But until now, efforts to slow or stop Parkinson’s progression mostly looked at one drug at a time. This move by Cure Parkinson’s is about changing that storyline entirely.  It’s a bold and hopeful chapter in the story of Parkinson’s research. By recognizing both the complexity of the disease and the individuality of each person it affects, Cure Parkinson’s invites innovation, encourages fresh thinking, and opens the door to treatments that might one day truly alter the course of Parkinson’s neurologically—and respectfully.