Newron making significant progress including US approval of Xadago

Italian CNS-focused drug developer Newron Pharmaceuticals (SIX: NWRN) today provided an end of year market update, which received a positive reaction, as the firm’s share rose 3.69% to $11.25 Swiss francs by around midday, having hit 11.55 francs earlier in the morning.

The company said significant progress has been made in 2017 with the approval and launch of Xadago (safinamide for the treatment of patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) in the USA in July, and its commercialization in 12 European countries. A study with Xadago to demonstrate the reduction of dyskinesia in PD patients with levodopa-induced dyskinesia (LID), scheduled to start in 2018, is in planning together with its partner Zambon.

The “Sarizotan Treatment of Apneas in Rett Syndrome” (STARS) study, a potentially pivotal trial, now includes patients as young as six years, following approval by the US Food and Drug Administration and health authorities in Italy, Australia, the UK and India. Newron expects to announce the results of this study in 2018. As previously stated, Newron plans to commercialize sarizotan for Rett syndrome directly in key markets.