International Linked Clinical Trials Program
The International Linked Clinical Trials (iLCT) Program is the world’s largest drug repurposing clinical trials initiative for Parkinson’s disease. Our goal is simple but urgent: find treatments that slow or stop Parkinson’s progression.
Each year, the iLCT Scientific Committee reviews dozens of medications developed or approved to treat other conditions that also have potential to treat Parkinson’s. The committee prioritizes the most promising drug candidates and works to launch clinical trials and related studies to evaluate each candidate’s ability to impede the disease.
By focusing on medications that already have passed rigorous safety and toxicology testing, the iLCT Program aims to significantly reduce the time it takes for a potential treatment to move from the lab to clinical trials and, if successful, to people with Parkinson’s.
iLCT is spearheaded by Cure Parkinson’s and Van Andel Institute.
Curent Clinical Trials
The medications listed below are currently in clinical trials. They were selected by the iLCT Scientific Committee based on drug safety, mode of action, ability to measure effectiveness and preclinical research.
What is being tested?
Ambroxol is medication used to treat respiratory ailments. It works by clearing mucus, easing coughing, and reducing inflammation. It is approved for use in Europe.
An analysis of preclinical data suggests that ambroxol may aid in the removal of abnormal alpha-synuclein, a protein that clumps together and damages brain cells. Loss of these critical cells contributes to Parkinson’s symptoms.
This phase 3 trial builds on promising results from an earlier phase 2 trial supported by the International Linked Clinical Trials program.
Trial details
Trial name: Ambroxol to slow progression in Parkinson’s disease (ASPro-PD)
ClinicalTrials.gov number: NCT05778617
Trial locations: London, United Kingdom
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What is being tested?
Dapansutrile is an anti-inflammatory medication.
This Phase 2 clinical trial will evaluate the safety and tolerability of dapansutrile in Parkinson’s and determine its ability to reduce inflammation in the brain.
Recent studies suggest that neuroinflammation, or inflammation of the nervous system, may be a driver of Parkinson’s, resulting in a loss of dopamine-producing nerve cells. If dapansutrile can lower neuroinflammation, then it may be able to slow the progression of Parkinson’s.
Researchers will compare dapansutrile to a placebo (an inactive substance that contains no medication) to assess its safety and its effects on inflammation and clinical symptoms.
Trial details
Trial name: A trial to test the use of dapansutrile, an anti-inflammatory medication, in people with Parkinson’s disease (DAPA-PD)
ClinicalTrials.gov number: NCT07157735
Trial location: University of Cambridge
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What is being tested?
The EJS ACT-PD trial is the largest clinical trial to date of treatments to slow or stop Parkinson’s progression.
The trial uses a multi-arm, multi-stage design, enabling several treatments to be tested at the same time in comparison to a single group of participants taking a placebo — a method that has not been used before for Parkinson’s. Initially, the trial will test two drugs known to be safe and effective at treating other conditions: a blood pressure medication and a drug used to treat an enlarged prostate.
Results will be analyzed on an ongoing basis, which will allow the study team to identify and drop ineffective treatments, with more promising drugs continuing to progress. The flexibility of the trial design also allows new treatment arms to be introduced within the same trial infrastructure.
The trial will include up to 1,600 people in its first phase from more than 40 hospitals across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
The EJS ACT-PD trial is sponsored by University College London and funded by a Medical Research Council and National Institute for Health and Care Research partnership, Cure Parkinson’s, The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, Parkinson’s UK, The John Black Charitable Foundation, The Gatsby Charitable Foundation and Van Andel Institute.
Trial details
Trial name: Edmond J. Safra Accelerating Clinical Trials in Parkinson’s Disease: A multi-arm, multi-stage platform trial (EJS ACT-PD)
ClinicalTrials.gov number: NCT07207057
Trial location: United Kingdom (for a full list of site, please visit ejsactpd.org)
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What is being tested?
Lithium is a medication used to treat mood disorders.
In the U.S., it has been approved as a treatment for bipolar disorder since 1970. More recently, lithium has started to garner attention from researchers as a possible treatment for Parkinson’s.
The study is a randomized, double-blind Phase 1 clinical trial. It will enroll 20 people with Parkinson’s who will be randomly assigned to a treatment group or a placebo group. Neither the participants nor the study team will know to which group the participants have been assigned. Participants in the treatment group will receive 20mg of lithium daily; participants in the placebo group will receive a placebo (an inactive substance that contains no medication).
At the end of the study, the research team will compare results from both groups to assess differences.
Trial details
Trial name: Repurposing lithium for Parkinson’s disease: A RCT
ClinicalTrials.gov number: NCT06339034
Trial location: University of Buffalo
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For more information on these trials and other prioritized drugs in the pipeline, please visit Cure Parkinson’s ➔
Please note, although Van Andel Institute is involved in clinical trials, the Institute does not treat patients and does not conduct trials onsite. Information about additional clinical trials beyond those supported by the International Linked Clinical Trials initiative can be found at Clinical Trials.gov.
Completed Clinical Trials
Ambroxol is a medication approved in Europe to promote the clearance of mucus and ease coughing. It is used to treat respiratory diseases and has anti-inflammatory properties.
Results from an iLCT-supported phase 2 clinical trial demonstrated that ambroxol can effectively cross the blood-brain barrier and increase levels of glucocerebrosidase (GCase) in the brain cells of people with Parkinson’s. GCase is a protein that allows cells to remove waste more effectively, a function that evidence suggests is deficient in some people with Parkinson’s.
A phase 3 clinical trial of ambroxol is underway. Please see “Current Clinical Trials” above for more information.
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Related publications
Mullin S, Smith L, Lee K, D’Souza G, Woodgate P, Elflein J, Hällqvist J, Toffoli M, Streeter A, Hosking J, Heywood WE, Khengar R, Campbell P, Hehir J, Cable S, Mills K, Zetterberg H, Limousin P, Libri V, Foltynie T, Schapira AHV. 2020. Ambroxol for the treatment of patients with Parkinson disease with and without glucocerebrosidase gene mutations. JAMA Neuro.
Exenatide is a type of medication called a GLP-1 receptor agonist. It was originally developed to treat Type 2 diabetes.
Results of a phase 3, multi-center clinical trial found no evidence that the drug impeded disease progression or reduced symptoms.
Read more
Related publications
Vijiaratnam N, Girges C, Auld G, McComish R, King A, Skene SS, Hibbert S, Wong A, Melander S, Gibson R, Matthews H, Dickson J, Carroll C, Patrick A, Inches J, Silverdale M, Blackledge B, Whiston J, Hu M, Welch J, Duncan G, Power K, Gallen S, Kerr J, Chaudhuri KR, Batzu L, Rota S, Jabbari E, Morris H, Limousin P, Greig N, Li Y, Libri V, Gandhi S, Athauda D, Chowdhury K, Foltynie T. 2025. Exenatide once a week versus placebo as a potential disease-modifying treatment for people with Parkinson’s disease in the UK: a phase 3, multicentre, double-blind, parallel-group, randomised, placebo-controlled trial. Lancet 405(10479):627–636.
Liraglutide is a type 2 diabetes medication. in 2022 suggested liraglutide may improve aspects of daily living and non-motor symptoms in people with Parkinson’s. More information may be found on ClinicalTrials.gov.
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This one-year, phase 2 clinical trial of lixisenatide, a type 2 diabetes medication, reported positive early results and suggested that the treatment may potentially slow the progression of motor symptoms in Parkinson’s disease.
Read more
Related publications
Meissner WG, Remy P, Giordana C, Maltete D, Derkinderen P, Houéto J-L, Anheim M … Rascol O for the LixiPark Study Group. 2024. Trial of lixisenatide in early Parkison’s disease. New Eng J Med 390(13).
Nilotinib is a treatment for chronic myelogenous leukemia. Results of this randomized, multicenter trial found no evidence of symptomatic benefit in Parkinson’s disease.
Related publications
Simuni T, Fiske B, Merchant K, Coffey CS, Klingner E, Caspell-Garcia C, Lafontant D-E, Matthews H, Wyse RK, Brundin P, Simon DK, Schwarzschild M, Weiner D, Adams J, Venuto C, Dawson TM, Baker L, Kostrzebski M, Ward T, Rafaloff G, Parkinson’s Study Group NILO-PD Investigators and Collaborators. 2021. Efficacy of nilotinib in patients with moderately advanced Parkinson disease: A randomized clinical trial. JAMA Neurol 78(3):312–320.
International Linked Clinical Trials Scientific Committee
International Linked Clinical Trial Committee members hail from some of the leading research organizations in the world and bring with them a vast range of experience studying all facets of Parkinson’s disease. Committee members meet annually to evaluate potential treatments that may be repositioned to treat Parkinson’s disease.
Roger Barker, MBBS, MRCP, Ph.D.
Professor of Clinical Neuroscience
University of Cambridge, Cambridge, U.K.
Camille Carroll, M.D.
Honorary Consultant Neurologist
Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust, U.K.
Mark R. Cookson, Ph.D.
Senior Investigator
National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
Ted Dawson, M.D., Ph.D.
Leonard and Madlyn Abramson Professor of Neurodegenerative Diseases
Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA
David Devos, Ph.D.
Professor of Medical Pharmacology
University of Lille Nord de France, Lille, France
Howard Federoff, M.D., Ph.D.
Executive Vice President for Health Sciences
Executive Dean, School of Medicine
Georgetown University, Washington, D.C., USA
Brian Fiske, Ph.D.
Vice President, Research Programs
The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research
New York, New York
Tim Greenamyre, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor & Vice-Chair of Neurology, Movement Disorders Division Director
Pittsburgh Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Pittsburgh, USA
Karl Kieburtz, M.D., MPH
Robert J. Joynt Professor in Neurology
Director of Clinical and Translational Science Institute, University of Rochester Medical Center
University of Rochester, Rochester, USA
Dimitri Krainc, M.D.
Chair, Department of Neurology
Director, Center for Rare Neurological Diseases
Aaron Montgomery Ward Professor
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, USA
Andrew Lees, M.D., F.R.C.P., FMedSci
Professor of Neurology, The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen’s Square
Emeritus Director, Reta Lila Weston Institute of Neurological Sciences, University College London Institute of Neurology
University College London, U.K.
Mark Mattson, Ph.D.
Senior Investigator
Chief, Laboratory of Neurosciences
Chief, Cellular and Molecular Sciences Section
Director of the Molecular Neurobiology Lab, Massachusetts General Institute for Neurodegenerative Disease
National Institute on Aging, Baltimore, USA
Darren Moore, Ph.D.
Jay Van Andel Endowed Chair in Parkinson’s Disease Research and Chair, Department of Neurodegenerative Science
Van Andel Institute, Grand Rapids, USA
Michael Schwarzschild, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor of Neurology, Harvard Medical School
Director of the Molecular Neurobiology Lab, Massachusetts General Institute for Neurodegenerative Disease
Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard University, Boston, USA
David Simon, M.D., Ph.D.
Director, Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders and the National Parkinson Foundation Center for Excellence, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Associate Professor of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA
Simon Stott, Ph.D.
Deputy Director of Research
Cure Parkinson’s, UK
David Sulzer, Ph.D.
Professor
Departments of Psychiatry, Pharmacology, and Neurology
Columbia University Medical Center, New York, USA
Caroline Tanner, M.D., Ph.D., F.A.A.N.
Director, Parkinson’s Disease Research Education and Clinical Center, San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center
Professor of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, USA
John Trojanowski, M.D.
William Maul Measey-Truman G. Schnabel Professor of Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA
Richard Wyse, M.D.
Director of Research and Development
Cure Parkinson’s, UK
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Vijiaratnam N, Girges C, Auld G, McComish R, King A, Skene SS, Hibbert S, Wong A, Melander S, Gibson R, Matthews H, Dickson J, Carroll C, Patrick A, Inches J, Silverdale M, Blackledge B, Whiston J, Hu M, Welch J, Duncan G, Power K, Gallen S, Kerr J, Chaudhuri KR, Batzu L, Rota S, Jabbari E, Morris H, Limousin P, Greig N, Li Y, Libri V, Gandhi S, Athauda D, Chowdhury K, Foltynie T. 2025. Exenatide once a week versus placebo as a potential disease-modifying treatment for people with Parkinson’s disease in the UK: a phase 3, multicentre, double-blind, parallel-group, randomised, placebo-controlled trial. Lancet 405(10479):627–636.
Meissner WG, Remy P, Giordana C, Maltete D, Derkinderen P, Houéto J-L, Anheim M … Rascol O for the LixiPark Study Group. 2024. Trial of lixisenatide in early Parkison’s disease. New Eng J Med 390(13).
Simuni T, Fiske B, Merchant K, Coffey CS, Klingner E, Caspell-Garcia C, Lafontant D-E, Matthews H, Wyse RK, Brundin P, Simon DK, Schwarzschild M, Weiner D, Adams J, Venuto C, Dawson TM, Baker L, Kostrzebski M, Ward T, Rafaloff G, Parkinson’s Study Group NILO-PD Investigators and Collaborators. 2021. Efficacy of nilotinib in patients with moderately advanced Parkinson disease: A randomized clinical trial. JAMA Neurol 78(3):312–320.
Mullin S, Smith L, Lee K, D’Souza G, Woodgate P, Elflein J, Hällqvist J, Toffoli M, Streeter A, Hosking J, Heywood WE, Khengar R, Campbell P, Hehir J, Cable S, Mills K, Zetterberg H, Limousin P, Libri V, Foltynie T, Schapira AHV. 2020. Ambroxol for the treatment of patients with Parkinson disease with and without glucocerebrosidase gene mutations. JAMA Neuro.
Aviles-Olmos I, Dickson J, Kefalopoulou Z, Djamshidian A, Kahan J, Ell P, Whitton P, Wyse R, Isaacs T, Lees A, Limousin P, Foltynie T. 2014. Motor and cognitive advantages persist 12 months after exendatide exposure in Parkinson’s disease. J Parkinson’s Dis 4(3):337–344.
McNeill A, Magalhaes J, Shen C, Chau KY, Hughes D, Mehta A, Foltynie T, Cooper MJ, Abramov AY, Gegg M, Schapira AHV. 2014. Ambroxol improves lysosomal biochemistry in glucocerebrosidase mutation-linked Parkinson disease cells. Brain 137(5):1481–1495.
Brundin P, Barker R, Conn PJ, Dawson TM, Kieburtz K, Lees AJ, Schwarzschild M, Tanner CM, Isaacs T, Duffen J, Matthews H, Wyse RKH. 2013. Linked Clinical Trials—The development of new clinical learning studies in Parkinson’s disease using screening of multiple prospective new treatments. J Parkinson’s Dis 3:231-239.
Schapira AHV, Gegg ME. 2013. Glucocerebrosidase in the pathogenesis and treatment of Parkinson’s disease. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 110(9):3214–3215.
Dodson MW, Guo Ming. 2007. Pink1, Parkin, DJ-1 and mitochondrial dysfunction in Parkinson’s disease. Curr Opin Neurobiol 17(3):331–337.