A significant clinical program has been launched through a collaboration involving Rune Labs, a leader in precision medicine for Parkinson’s disease (PD), and the Parkinson’s Foundation, with support from the Global Parkinson's Genetics Program (GP2). This initiative aims to accelerate the development and deployment of new therapies for Parkinson's disease by focusing on the discovery of genetic and digital biomarkers.

The core objective of this study is to map gene variants to real-world symptom and medication data, thereby revealing wearable-based biomarker correlations in individuals with Parkinson's. This approach is expected to provide breakthroughs in diagnostics, therapy development, and the design of clinical trials. The program will leverage Rune Labs’ StrivePD AI-driven software in conjunction with PD GENEration, the flagship genetic testing and counseling initiative from the Parkinson’s Foundation.

The need for such advancements is critical. Parkinson’s disease affects an estimated one million Americans, making it the second-most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer’s, and it is the 14th-leading cause of death in the U.S. Characterized by a progressive loss of motor control (such as shaking or tremors at rest and lack of facial expression) and various non-motor symptoms (like depression and anxiety), there is currently no cure for Parkinson's. Nearly 90,000 new cases are diagnosed each year in the U.S., and the global patient population is expected to exceed 25 million by 2050, highlighting the urgency for improved diagnostics and treatments despite progress over the past two decades.

Rune Labs, an AI-led data analytics company specializing in precision neurology, contributes its StrivePD software to this effort. StrivePD is a care delivery ecosystem that utilizes data from an iPhone and Apple Watch to passively track motor symptoms like tremor and dyskinesia using FDA-cleared metrics. It also incorporates self-reported information such as mood, medications, and remote surveys. Through AI-driven monitoring, StrivePD provides real-time insights and proactive treatment guidance, helping patients manage symptoms between specialist visits, improve medication adherence, and potentially avoid unnecessary emergency room trips. This technology is also changing how neurological clinical trials are designed by improving predictive accuracy and reducing trial failures.

The Parkinson’s Foundation brings its PD GENEration initiative to the collaboration. This international research program offers genetic testing and counseling at no cost to individuals diagnosed with PD. Since its inception in 2019, PD GENEration has enrolled over 24,000 people with Parkinson's across North, Central, and South America, the Caribbean, and Israel. Its mission is to help individuals better understand their genetic link to PD, manage their treatment and care, contribute to the scientific understanding of PD, and accelerate enrollment into clinical trials. The Parkinson’s Foundation has a long history of commitment, investing more than $474 million in Parkinson’s research and clinical care since 1957, with a mission to make life better for people with Parkinson's disease by improving care and advancing research toward a cure.

The Global Parkinson's Genetics Program (GP2), funded by the Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s (ASAP) initiative and implemented by The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Disease Research, supports this study. GP2 is focused on improving the understanding of the genetic architecture of Parkinson's disease by integrating ancestrally diverse populations, addressing a significant gap in current scientific knowledge about the disease. The partnership with the Parkinson’s Foundation through this study will further enhance the ancestral diversity of global PD genetic data.

By integrating genetic data from PD GENEration with real-world, continuous data from StrivePD, the study intends to identify crucial biological and digital signatures of Parkinson's disease. These findings are expected to support earlier diagnosis, enable more precise patient stratification for clinical trials, and facilitate the development of better-targeted treatment strategies. Participants will undergo genetic testing and counseling, and use the StrivePD system to track symptoms and activities, potentially determining their eligibility for genetically based clinical studies.

Brian Pepin, CEO of Rune Labs, emphasized the potential of this approach: “We believe that there is significant potential to advance Parkinson’s research by combining genetic insights with real-world data derived from AI-driven platforms like StrivePD to define disease subtypes. As trials become more precise, we can leverage data from this new study to reduce the noise, match patients to the right interventions, and generate stronger evidence to support the development of much-needed personalized treatments. If you carry a gene mutation, you shouldn’t be treated like every other patient. This study could move us from ‘average-patient’ dosing to genome-matched therapy recommendations.”

Dr. James Beck, Chief Scientific Officer of the Parkinson’s Foundation, echoed this optimism, stating, “We created PD GENEration to empower those with Parkinson’s and their families to know more about their disease, accelerate clinical trials [that may one day halt Parkinson’s], and drive forward research into the complex genetic factors that contribute to Parkinson’s severity, progression, and treatment response. This new study with Rune Labs brings in powerful digital insights that can help us decode Parkinson’s even further and speed up the path toward more effective treatments, and one day, a cure. Together, we can make better lives for those living with PD.”

Initial genotype-response findings from this collaborative program are anticipated in 2026. In line with a commitment to advancing scientific discovery, anonymized results will be made available to researchers through the GP2 data repository to accelerate future studies in the field.

This comprehensive program underscores a concerted effort to leverage cutting-edge technology and collaborative research to make significant strides in understanding and treating Parkinson's disease, ultimately aiming to improve the lives of millions affected globally.