Imagine a treatment that doesn’t just ease the tremors for a few hours, but actually slows the progression of disease. Imagine a therapy that catches Parkinson’s early and stops it in its tracks. Imagine a cure in our lifetime.
That future isn’t a fantasy. The science of immunology and immunotherapies is real and hope is growing. The cures this community has been waiting for are closer than ever. What we need now is sustained, reliable funding to carry the science the rest of the way.
This November, California voters have a chance to provide exactly that.
What the Measure Does
The California Immunology Research and Cures Initiative will provide $8.4 billion in vital funding for California-based public and nonprofit universities and medical research institutions to conduct research for cutting-edge immunotherapies to prevent and cure debilitating diseases that affect millions of families.
Immunotherapies are treatments that work with the body’s own immune system rather than against it. Instead of simply managing symptoms or broadly suppressing biological processes, immunotherapy aims to precisely target the underlying causes of disease. For Parkinson’s, that means research into using the immune system to clear out the toxic protein buildup in the brain that is believed to drive the disease’s progression.
Scientists are closer to these breakthroughs than many people realize. Researchers are on the verge of therapies that could clear the harmful brain plaques linked to Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, while slowing the progression of ALS.
The question is no longer whether these breakthroughs are possible — it’s whether we are willing to invest enough to make them a reality.
Why California’s Funding Matters Now
Federal research funding, the traditional backbone of university science programs, has been unreliable in recent years, and California’s world-class research institutions are feeling it. Labs at UC San Francisco, Stanford and other leading universities are scaling back or pausing promising studies. This initiative will create a dedicated, independent funding stream that doesn’t depend on the political whims of Washington, D.C.
Strong Accountability & Designed to Pay for Itself
For those understandably skeptical of bond measures, this bond is different. Ten percent of all royalties from the licensing of immunotherapies developed through this measure must be returned to California to offset total bond costs, including interest.
This initiative includes meaningful accountability safeguards. The measure caps state administrative costs at 2%; requires grant funds to public universities and nonprofit research centers be spent directly on medical research; imposes rigorous conflict-of-interest rules; mandates independent financial audits; and requires public disclosure of all spending.
The initiative also includes a direct patient benefit: Any cure or immunotherapy developed through research funded by this measure must be made available to California patients at a 20% discount below the national average. The people funding this research should be able to afford what it produces.
What It Could Mean for Parkinson’s
Parkinson’s affects an estimated one million Americans, and that number grows every year. Current treatments help manage symptoms but they don’t slow the disease or stop it. A therapy that could interrupt the progression of PD, or prevent it altogether, would be transformative.
Researchers are already testing immunotherapy approaches for Parkinson’s in clinical trials. This measure doesn’t create that science from scratch — it ensures the work can continue and accelerate. That’s why groups like the Parkinson Association of Northern California have endorsed the measure.