Sinopia Biosciences publishes PKA-II modulator data in Science TM
Sinopia Biosciences has published preclinical data in Science Translational Medicine showing that selective modulation of PKA-II, a signalling protein downstream of dopamine receptors, can simultaneously improve the motor benefits of levodopa and reduce the dyskinesia that commonly limits its long-term use in Parkinson's disease.
The San Diego company's development candidate, SB-0110, is now advancing through late-stage preclinical toxicology studies. Sinopia said it expects to file an investigational new drug application and enter first-in-human trials in 2027.
The science
Levodopa remains the standard of care for the motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease, but its chronic use is associated with motor fluctuations and levodopa-induced dyskinesia (LID) in the majority of patients over time. The core clinical problem is that existing adjunct therapies aimed at improving levodopa's efficacy tend to worsen dyskinesia, while the only approved anti-dyskinesia agent carries side effects that restrict its use in a large proportion of patients. Sinopia's approach targets PKA-II to thread this needle at the signalling level rather than adding another layer of dopaminergic or cholinergic modulation.
The discovery route is notable. Sinopia used its LEADS platform, which combines high-throughput transcriptomic profiling with AI-assisted network analysis, to screen drug perturbation signatures against the transcriptomic profiles associated with both levodopa's therapeutic effects and its dyskinesia-linked effects. That screen identified SB-0107, a PKA-II positive modulator with prior human clinical history, as a starting point. Iterative optimisation produced SB-0110. In non-human primate models of established PD and dyskinesia, both compounds significantly reduced LID severity while potentiating the antiparkinsonian benefit of levodopa.
Aarash Bordbar, chief executive, chief scientific officer and co-founder of Sinopia, said the publication validates "one of the most challenging trade-offs for patients with Parkinson's disease" and positions the programme to address both patients who already experience LID and those initiating levodopa therapy and seeking to delay its onset. The company said SB-0110 showed no meaningful activity across a broad GPCR panel or established Parkinson's drug targets, which it characterised as supporting a differentiated and clean preclinical safety profile.
The research was funded in part by grants from the NIH's National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, and the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research.
Market context
The Parkinson's disease therapeutics market remains active. Several companies are pursuing adjunct approaches to address LID and motor fluctuations, including continuous drug-delivery formulations and non-dopaminergic targets such as adenosine A2A receptors and alpha-synuclein aggregation. The PKA-II mechanism is not yet represented among approved or late-stage clinical programmes, which gives Sinopia a potential window of differentiation, though the pathway from promising NHP data to confirmed clinical efficacy in Parkinson's is notoriously uneven.
Publication in Science Translational Medicine, a journal that specifically evaluates the translational relevance of preclinical findings, lends some credibility to the NHP model choice, which Sinopia itself describes as "highly translatable." Investors and prospective partners will now watch for the IND filing, the selection of a lead clinical indication within the PD population, and whether Sinopia moves toward a Series A or partnership arrangement to fund the clinical programme. The company has not publicly disclosed its current financing status or investors.