Cellivery, a protein-based drug discovery/development company, said Thursday that it has been selected to receive funds to develop a new drug for Parkinson’s disease from the Michael J. Fox Foundation (MJFF).

MJFF, founded by Hollywood actor Michael J. Fox, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to finding a cure for Parkinson's disease through funded research and ensuring the development of improved therapies. MJFF chose Cellivery _셀리버리 as the recipient of the grant on June 20.

“ICP-Parkin,” the new drug candidate to be funded by the MJFF, is a Parkin protein, which is useful for the treatment of Parkinson's disease.

The treatment is being co-developed with Ildong Pharmaceutical _일동제약 with Cellivery expected to reveal the mode of action of the ICP-Parkin treatment during the next 18 months.

“We appreciate MJFF, the world's largest research fund for the treatment of Parkinson's disease, for acknowledging our technology and feel a sense of responsibility,” said Jo Dae-woong _조대웅, the CEO of Cellivery. “As we are the first company in Korea to receive money from MJFF, we will lead the project successfully and attract follow-up research support in the future.”

The company also plans to lead research and development cooperation with multinational pharmaceutical companies for the treatment of Parkinson's disease, Cho added.