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Diseases

CND Life Sciences Awarded $3 Million NIH Grant for Multicenter Study on Essential Tremor and Parkinson's Disease

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

CND Life Sciences, a medical technology company pioneering the development of cutaneous neurodiagnostic tests, has been awarded a $3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. The grant will fund a three-year multicenter study to determine if the presence of phosphorylated alpha-synuclein (P-SYN) in patients with essential tremor (ET) predicts the likelihood of developing Parkinson's disease (PD). The study aims to identify a predictive tool to assess which patients may be at risk for developing PD, which could have major implications for the treatment and management of people with ET in the future.

The Syn-T Study will involve approximately 300 participants, recruited and enrolled from December 2025, across 15 participating sites in the U.S. under the direction of three key organizations: Baylor University Medical Center, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. The study will use the Syn-One Test, a skin biopsy test that provides accurate pathological evidence to aid in the diagnostic evaluation of 'at-risk' patients with clinical features suggestive of a synucleinopathy like PD.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Syn-T Study aims to determine if P-SYN in ET patients predicts the likelihood of developing PD.
  • The study will involve approximately 300 participants from 15 participating sites in the U.S.
  • The Syn-One Test, a skin biopsy test, will be used to measure the presence of P-SYN in cutaneous nerve fibers of ET patients.
  • If successful, the study could provide valuable insight into the progression of PD and aid in the development of novel therapies.
  • CND Life Sciences has a CLIA-certified and CAP-accredited laboratory in Scottsdale, Arizona, and has collaborated on clinical trials for investigational therapies.
  • The company has developed the Syn-One Test, which has been designated as a Breakthrough Device by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for aiding the diagnosis of synucleinopathies.

Statistics:

  • $3 million NIH grant awarded to CND Life Sciences for the Syn-T Study.
  • Approximately 300 participants will be involved in the study.
  • 15 participating sites across the U.S. will be involved in the study.
  • The Syn-T Study will be conducted over a three-year period.
  • The Syn-One Test has demonstrated 95% sensitivity overall in patients clinically diagnosed with one of four synucleinopathies and confirmed by an expert panel (4).
  • More than 3,000 neurologists and other clinicians have used the Syn-One Test to support their diagnostic evaluation of patients.

Sources:

  • (1) Elias WJ, Shah BB. Essential tremor. JAMA. 2024;332(5):418-419. doi: .
  • (2) Minen MT, Louis ED. Emergence of Parkinson's Disease in Essential Tremor: A Study of the Clinical Correlates in 53 Patients. Mov Disord. 2008 Aug 15;23(11):1602-1605. doi: .
  • (3) Louis ED, Berry D, Ghanem A, et al. Conversion Rate of Essential Tremor to Essential Tremor Parkinson Disease. Neurology Clin Practice, 2023;13(3).
  • (4) Gibbons CH, Levine T, Adler C, et al. Skin biopsy detection of phosphorylated ð-synuclein in patients with synucleinopathies. JAMA. 2024;331(15):1298-1306. doi: .

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