BRIEF—Equfina approved in Japan for 'wearing off' in Parkinson's

Eisai (TYO: 4523) and Meiji Seika Pharma have received Japanese approval to market their Equfina Tablets (safinamide mesilate) to treat ‘wearing off’ in Parkinson’s patients under treatment with drugs containing levodopa.

In Japan, Meiji holds the manufacturing and marketing approval for safinamide, and fellow Japanese company Eisai exclusively sells safinamide, a drug that was discovered by Italian biopharma Newron Pharmaceuticals (SIX: NWRN) and is marketed under the name Xadago in the USA and much of Europe.

Drugs containing levodopa are widely used to treat Parkinson’s disease by replenishing the brain’s supply of dopamine. However, as the disease progresses, levodopa’s duration of effect decreases, and there are cases where patients may experience wearing-off phenomena, a return of Parkinson’s disease symptoms before the next dose.