- New prestigious grants support Lario’s unique portfolio of calcium channel programmes
- Indication expansion into Parkinson’s disease, and PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorders)
- Builds on prior support from The Michael J. Fox Foundation and further validates Lario’s precision neuroscience platform
EDINBURGH, Scotland, Feb. 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Lario Therapeutics (“Lario” or the “Company”), a biopharmaceutical company developing first-in-class precision medicines for epileptic and neurological disorders, today announced it has received a total of $2.4 million in grant funding from The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF) and Wellcome to support the continued expansion of its neuronal calcium channel drug discovery platform.
This funding, awarded by two highly respected organisations, provides significant validation of Lario’s work on selective small-molecule inhibitors of voltage-gated neuronal calcium channels. With the proceeds of these awards, Lario is expanding its work in Parkinson’s disease and exploring an additional high-priority indication – post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
The $1.5m grant from MJFF supports the progression of Lario’s work on CaV1.3-linked Parkinson’s disease biology, a target with strong mechanistic relevance to disease progression. CaV1.3 has recently been highlighted by MJFF as one of the most promising drug targets through its Targets to Therapies initiative, an expert-led programme designed to prioritise and de-risk disease-modifying targets in Parkinson’s disease.
In tandem, Lario has also received a $900k (£700k) grant from Wellcome to further validate CaV2.3 as a target in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), building on recent large-scale human genetics research linking variation in the gene encoding CaV2.3 (CACNA1E) to increased risk of the condition. This award complements Lario’s previously announced $6m grant by MJFF in 2024, supporting preclinical work on CaV2.3 as a potential disease-modifying approach for Parkinson’s disease, and to explore the therapeutic potential of selective CaV2.3 inhibition across a range of central nervous system disorders.
Henning Steinhagen, Chief Executive Officer, Lario Therapeutics, said: “Lario was founded to translate strong human genetics and neuronal biology into precision medicines for patients with severe neurological disease. We are grateful for the continued support of The Michael J. Fox Foundation, and the funding from Wellcome which support us to advance these unique programmes towards the clinic, taking us one step closer to providing meaningful treatments for patients with high unmet need.”
Tom Otis, Chief Scientific Officer, Lario Therapeutics, commented: “These awards recognise the growing body of evidence linking neuronal calcium channel dysfunction to the core biology of neurological and psychiatric diseases. By combining selective small-molecule chemistry with rigorous target biology, we are building a unique platform designed to deliver precision therapies for patients suffering from epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease and post-traumatic stress disorder.”
In addition to this grant funded indication expansion, the Company is focused on the development of its leading CaV2.3 programme for severe developmental and epileptic encephalopathies (DEEs) and plans to initiate IND-enabling studies in 2026, with an IND filing and subsequent first-in-human clinical trials to follow.
Lario’s leadership team will be participating in several major international industry conferences in early 2026, including Bio-Neuroscience in Amsterdam, on 24-26 February, Sachs’ Annual European Life Sciences CEO Forum in Zurich on 4-5 March, and BIO-Europe Spring in Lisbon on 23-25 March.
About Lario Therapeutics
Lario Tx was founded in 2021 as a spin-out from Epidarex Exeed (epidarex-exeed.com), the therapeutic discovery engine of Epidarex Capital, with seed investment from Epidarex Capital and Axxam which transferred its participation into Golgi Neurosciences. The Company is rapidly advancing, led by Dr Henning Steinhagen, Co-founder and CEO, together with a highly motivated and experienced team of industry experts.
About CaV1.3 and CaV2.3
CaV1.3 and CaV2.3 are voltage-gated neuronal calcium channels that regulate neuronal excitability and synaptic signalling in the central nervous system.
CaV1.3 (encoded by CACNA1D) is a target with strong genetic and mechanistic relevance to Parkinson’s Disease progression and has been prioritised within MJFF’s Targeted Therapies Initiative as promising disease-modifying target.
CaV2.3 (encoded by CACNA1E) has been implicated by genetic and functional studies in multiple neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders, including developmental and genetic epilepsies – notably, developmental encephalopathy epilepsy (DEE) – as well as Parkinson’s disease, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Selective modulation of CaV2.3 offers a precision-medicine approach that targets pathological neuronal dysfunction while avoiding the broader effects of non-selective calcium channel inhibition. Lario Therapeutics’ core programme focuses on selective CaV2.3 inhibitors for severe developmental encephalopathies (DEEs) and is being expanded into additional indications.
For more information about Lario Therapeutics please visit lariotx.com.
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