A cure for Parkinson’s, faster, through the world’s best preclinical neuroscience.

For more than 20 years, Atuka has been providing preclinical services that expand the frontiers of Parkinson’s disease research, and helping to make new, life-changing therapeutics a reality.

We help our partners make informed, critical decisions at the interface between the preclinical and clinical, combining our unsurpassed neuroscience and Parkinson’s expertise with an industry-leading range of rodent and NHP models, and experience in gene therapy, to design the best-tailored program for any potential therapeutic.

Atuka provides its partners with the highest-quality studies and data, as interpreted by world-leading neuroscientists, to ensure results that are consistently predictive and translatable.

Atuka at a glance

Making a difference for patients, our partners, and the broader research community

Atuka’s lead scientists are responsible for numerous breakthroughs that have helped shape the direction of research in the field over the past three decades. Collectively they have published more than 300 peer-reviewed, highly-cited papers, and individually possess h-indices ranging from 25 to 80.

300+

therapeutics evaluated

30+

candidates proceeding to clinical trial

300+

peer-reviewed academic papers

40+

pre-clinical models

Talk to our experts

Advance your therapeutic program

Contact us
Schedule a call

Get the latest science from Atuka

Sign up to receive our quarterly newsletter featuring the latest developments in Parkinson’s disease research.

List Signup

White paper

Beyond the Canonical Motor Syndrome: Non-motor and Non-canonical Features of Parkinson’s Disease

The route from a lived problem to a defensible choice of model, endpoint, and interpretation

A primer on the emerging biological understanding of Parkinson’s and its possible impact on the development of novel therapeutics and disease modelling.

Discovery series

#3 – LRRK2

Leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2)-targeted therapies for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease

Read the latest entry in our new series on the latest research on emerging targets in Parkinson’s Disease.

News and insights

What our partners say

Working with Atuka has been a highly satisfying experience! They exceeded our expectations in terms of quality, timeliness, and cost. Their knowledge and expertise in the Parkinson’s disease area were invaluable, helping us select and design in vivo models and obtain critical data to drive our projects toward success. We will definitely continue collaborating with Atuka as our program requires and recommend them to our peers without hesitation.

Kevin Fang, Chief Scientific Officer
Ignis Therapeutics

Meet the Atuka team

Services & capabilities

Expanding the frontiers of research into neurodegenerative disorders

While our roots are in Parkinson’s research, Atuka has developed extensive preclinical experience developing therapies for numerous other indications—including cognitive disorders, ALS and other movement disorders such as dystonia and dyskinesia—across multiple modalities, such as biologics (including gene therapy) and small molecules.

  • Our services
  • Specialists in rodent and NHP preclinical efficacy and translational pharmacology studies
  • Pharmacokinetic and biodistribution studies for small molecules and biologics, including gene therapies
  • Support services, such as imaging, bioanalysis, etc
  • Surgical excellence supporting model development, gene therapy/biologic evaluation, targeting of brain structures, PM tissue collection
  • Bespoke endpoint assay development in addition to endpoints commonly employed in our models

Redefining innovation

Atuka is unique among contract research organizations. Not only do we provide our partners with industry-leading expertise in preclinical trial design and interpretation, but we are committed to ongoing scientific discovery in Parkinson’s disease and other disorders through an extensive internal research program, while actively contributing to and engaging with the scientific literature.

Our sites and facilities

World class facilities, global connections

Our partners benefit from globally-recognized scientists using advanced technologies at leading-edge research and lab facilities in Canada and China.

Atuka is a world expert in NHP research and has the capacity to conduct both small and large studies that use up to 150 macaques at our newly renovated, AAALAC-accredited facility in Suzhou, China. We are able to perform studies no other CRO can, while adhering to the highest standards of animal welfare.

Suzhou, China

  • Macaque in vivo facility
  • In vivo imaging
  • Surgical studies
  • Bioanalytical services
  • Behavioural studies

Toronto, Canada

  • Rodent in vivo laboratory
  • In vitro laboratory
  • Administrative office

Our partners

With a depth of preclinical experience unparalleled in our field globally, Atuka has collaborated with over 90 organizations, including large pharmaceutical and biotech companies, charitable foundations, universities, and government agencies.