[Stitcher]

New research emphasizes benefits of Azilect in Parkinson's

Pharmaceutical Business Review OnLine
12th October 2006
By Victoria Harrison

http://www.pharmaceutical-business-r...C-77559DB9D623

New analysis of trials of the drug Azilect, manufactured by Teva, has demonstrated that it is effective as a monotherapy in Parkinson's disease.

Azilect is indicated for the treatment of Parkinson's disease both as initial therapy alone and to be added to levodopa later in the disease.

The study showed that patients using a once-daily dose of Azilect, maintained their quality of life scores and the drug helped to manage the early symptoms of Parkinson's.

"These data show that Azilect is a good choice for initial monotherapy because it is effective in helping manage early Parkinson's symptoms and is also generally well tolerated," said John Bertoni of Creighton University.

Once-daily Azilect has demonstrated effectiveness in reducing "off" time (delaying the symptoms of Parkinson's) as adjunct therapy to levodopa in both the studies.

"We also looked at results across geographical areas and found that there were consistent treatment benefits seen across two geographically-separate, large-scale clinical studies of similar design," said Steven Schwid of the University of Rochester.

Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the brain. Symptoms can include tremor, stiffness, slowness of movement, and impaired balance.