Lysogene has entered into a collaborative research agreement with Yeda Research and Development, a commercial branch of the Weizmann Institute of Science, to develop a gene therapy for neuronopathic Gaucher disease that affects the brain and spinal cord, the biopharmaceutical company announced.

The therapy also will be investigated as a treatment for Parkinson’s disease and other disorders caused by mutations in the GBA gene.

“This collaboration is a perfect fit with Lysogene’s strategy, providing the opportunity to develop a novel therapy for a rare lysosomal disease, with the potential to expand into neurological diseases with much larger patient populations, such as Parkinson,” Ralph Laufer, chief scientific officer of Lysogene, said in a press release.