COMPANY OVERVIEW

Atuka Ltd. was founded by Dr. Jonathan Brotchie in Toronto in 2003. The company’s mission was to bring the innovative thinking and rigour from Dr. Brotchie’s previous decades of academic research around Parkinson’s disease into the commercial arena in order to meet the rapidly growing demand from the pharma and biotech industries, particularly for non-human primate (NHP) models of Parkinson’s disease. 

During the company’s first decade of operation, Atuka’s team of lead scientists were responsible for several important breakthroughs that would help shape the direction of Parkinson’s disease research—including the development of novel models, in both rodent and NHP, of synucleinopathy in Parkinson’s disease—while establishing Atuka’s reputation for industry-leading preclinical services. In 2004, the company opened its first NHP research facility in Beijing, China, with more to follow, and several of its client projects progressed to clinical development. (As of 2024, all of Atuka’s NHP activity has been consolidated at an AAALAC-accredited NHP facility in Suzhou, China.)

In 2011, the company was formally restructured as Atuka Inc., with Brotchie, Dr. Michael Hill, and David Sefton as co-founders, better positioning Atuka to offer the broadest possible range of models of Parkinson’s disease. Embedded inside the world-renowned neuroscience centre at Toronto’s University Health Network (UHN), the new company was conceived to be unique among contract research organizations (CRO), providing fee-for-service partnerships with clients but with an industry-leading expertise in trial design and interpretation, along with a commitment to ongoing scientific discovery in Parkinson’s through an extensive internal non-fee generating research program. 

Atuka has since diversified its portfolio to include over 30 animal models, covering various aspects of Parkinson’s and related disorders. Beyond its historic strength in the development of small molecule therapies for Parkinson’s disease, Atuka’s expertise today extends to a range of other neurodegenerative disorders and modalities of therapy, particularly antibodies and gene therapies.

Few organizations can claim the same depth of knowledge, expertise, and experience when it comes to Parkinson’s disease. Atuka’s lead scientists—in addition to Brotchie and Hill, Dr. Tom Johnston, Dr. James Koprich, and Dr. Patrick Howson—have collectively published over 300 impactful, peer-reviewed papers, and individually possess h-indices ranging from 25 to 70, among the highest in their field academically. 

Since 2003, Atuka has been involved in the preclinical evaluation of more than 300 potential treatments, over 80 in NHP, with more than 30 partners progressing their programs to clinical trials. This record of experience is unparalleled globally and supports our promise to deliver earlier and more effective treatment strategies. 

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