Highlighting the continued interest of the pharmaceutical industry in neurodegenerative diseases and G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs), Merck Serono and Domain Therapeutics have partnered to develop metabotropic glutamate receptor 4 (mGluR4) positive allosteric modulator (PAM) drugs for Parkinson’s disease and other neurodegenerative diseases. Domain will supply optimised compounds developed using its DTect-All™ technology platform in exchange for €2 M (US$2.7 M) in research funding and an upfront payment and up to €132 M (US$177 M) in milestone payments for the first two products developed under the agreement, plus royalties. The deal will primarily focus on DT1687, Domain’s most advanced optimised lead.