A pharmaceutical executive based in the United States, Brian Frenzel serves as the president and chief executive officer of Tosk, Inc. Brian Frenzel is also a director of SanBio, Inc., where he oversees the development of drugs for neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s disease. A progressive disorder characterized by tremors, stiffness, and slowing of movement, Parkinson’s disease is caused by decreased production of the neurotransmitter dopamine in the brain. Pharmaceutical treatments for Parkinson’s typically focus on supplying the brain with the dopamine it needs. However, because dopamine cannot pass the blood-brain barrier, currently available drugs to treat Parkinson’s must use other mechanisms other than dopamine replacement to be effective. One of the most common pharmaceutical treatments for Parkinson’s disease is levodopa, which converts into the active form of dopamine once it enters the brain. Another class of Parkinson’s drugs are the dopamine agonists, such as pramipexole and ropinirole, which mimic the effects of dopamine without being converted to dopamine. Other Parkinson’s drug treatments include MAO-B inhibitors such as selegiline, which slow the breakdown and increase the bioavailability of dopamine in the brain. However, there is currently no Parkinson’s treatment to recover the function of dopamine-producing cells in the brain. SanBio is developing cell therapy products derived from mesenchymal stem cells to help restore the function of dopaminergic neurons in patients suffering from Parkinson’s disease.
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AuthorAt Genelabs Technologies in the 1980’s, Brian Frenzel served on the front lines in the war on HIV/AIDS and championed projects to identify and diagnose new hepatitis viruses. Archives
June 2020
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