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10th November 2102 - News release

A FUTURE REPLACEMENT FOR SINEMET

Depomed are developing a new drug called DM-1992 that could outperform Sinemet in the treatment of Parkinson's Disease. Just like Sinemet, DM-1992 is a combination of L-dopa and carbidopa, which prevents the breakdown of L-dopa. DM-1992 also includes AcuForm, which makes use of the properties of certain polymers. These polymers have long been used to "fluff" ice cream and are safe to use. Upon entering the stomach an AcuForm coated pill expands and is retained in the stomach for up to 8 hours. For more information go to Depomed.

AcuForm helps to deliver a drug like Sinemet over a longer period of time. Depomed's formulation was able to extend the therapeutic duration of L-dopa to nine hours, compared to Sinemet CR's seven hours. The time to reach peak blood levels was extended to four hours compared to 2 hours for Sinemet CR. These advantages could enable a decrease in the dosage of L-dopa, and the ridding of side effects such as nausea and dyskinesia. In the most recent clinical trial, DM-1992 reduced off time from 5.4 hours per day to 4.5 hours per day. DM-1992 was generally well tolerated in the study, and there were no serious adverse events. For the news release click here. For a printable version of this article click here. In order to refer to this article on its own click here.

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24th October 2102 - New research

ODM-101 FOUND TO BE MORE EFFECTIVE THAN STALEVO

ODM-101, a new L-dopa product currently being developed by Orion for the treatment of Parkinson's disease, has successfully completed Phase II Proof of Concept trial. The key results indicate that ODM-101 was more effective than the reference product Stalevo in the treatment of advanced Parkinson's Disease.

Stalevo is a standard drug for advanced Parkinson's patients experiencing end-of-dose wearing-off symptoms associated with L-dopa therapy. Stalevo is an enhanced L-dopa treatment containing three active substances in one tablet : L-dopa and the enzyme inhibitors entacapone and carbidopa. For more information go to Stalevo. Orion do not detail in which way ODM-101 and Stalevo are chemically different.

The study included more than 100 patients in Europe. The Principal Investigator said "This phase II study demonstrated that ODM-101 has potential to be significantly more effective than Stalevo in the daily treatment of Parkinson's disease patients with response fluctuations. ODM-101 reduced time periods during the day when patients do not have adequate treatment response. These benefits were possible without an increase in troublesome involuntary movements (dyskinesia)." For more information, go to the News release. In order to refer to this article on its own click here.