Parkinson’s UK, University of Sheffield to develop new Parkinson’s drug Parkinson's UK, the largest charitable funder of Parkinson's research in Europe, is investing up to £1.2 million into a pioneering one-year project in partnership with the University of Sheffield. The project aims to refine a molecule that could be developed into a drug to protect dopamine-producing brain cells and slow down the progression of Parkinson's. The funding boost comes via the charity's Parkinson's Virtual Biotech initiative, which is plugging the funding gap in drug development and fast-tracking the development of new treatments for people with Parkinson's. Scientists at the University of Sheffield's Institute of Translational Neuroscience (SITraN) and Parkinson's UK have been developing molecules that can boost the function of the brain's energy-producing mitochondria, to halt Parkinson's - something no treatment can currently do.