Newron's safinamide shows promise in PD

Italy's Newron Pharmaceuticals SpA says that preliminary data from a trial of safinamide, its developmental product for the treatment of Parkinson's disease, shows that the drug has a statistically-significant positive impact on patient motor control. The firm also reported that the compound had improved cognitive function, compared with a dopamine agonist-based regimen.

Safinamide is an alpha-aminoamide derivative that inhibits the reuptake of dopamine and MAO-B, as well as preventing the release of glutamate, which the firm believes is key to controlling the concentration of dopamine in the brain.

The announced data is derived from a European Phase III trial that was run as a double-blind, placebo-controlled assessment of the compound's efficacy as an adjunct to a stable dose of a single dopamine agonist, in 270 early-stage PD patients.The results showed that those subjects who received the 50mg-100mg dose of the drug over the 24-week program, achieved clinically relevant improvements in their conditions, as measured by the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) part III motor score. The firm added that it would present full trial data at the International Congress of Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders, in Kyoto, Japan in November.