Now, researchers led by Sinopia Biosciences—a startup that grew out of University of California San Diego—have reported preclinical results that could help change that equation. In animal models of Parkinson’s disease, their drug candidate, SB-0110, boosted L-dopa’s benefits while reducing dyskinetic side effects.

The paper was published in Science Translational Medicine.

“Virtually every Parkinson’s patient takes levodopa,” said UC San Diego alumnus Aarash Bordbar, chief executive officer, chief scientific officer and co-founder of Sinopia Biosciences. “But patients face two major problems with the drug: the reappearance of Parkinson’s symptoms and dyskinesia. There is no drug that can be added to L-dopa to address both simultaneously in a robust manner, and that’s what our drug candidate is doing.”