NeuroDerm's Transdermal L-DOPA Parkinson's Patch Completes First Clinical Trial.OFAKIM, Israel -- NeuroDerm, Ltd., announced today that it has completed a pilot clinical trial of ND0601, the first transdermal skin patch skin patch, transdermal patch, or transdermal delivery system, adhesive patch used to deliver a controlled dose of a drug through the skin over a period of time. for the continuous delivery of levodopa levodopa: see l-dopa. levodopa or L-dopa Organic compound (L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine) from which the body makes dopamine, a neurotransmitter deficient in persons with parkinsonism. . This drug, which is primarily used in oral form, is the major treatment for Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease or Parkinsonism, degenerative brain disorder first described by the English surgeon James Parkinson in 1817. When there is no known cause, the disease usually appears after age 40 and is referred to as Parkinson's disease. . Levodopa is the natural precursor of dopamine dopamine (dōp`əmēn), one of the intermediate substances in the biosynthesis of epinephrine and norepinephrine. See catecholamine. dopamine One of the catecholamines, widely distributed in the central nervous system. , a neurotransmitter deficient in the Parkinson's disease brain. The main objective of this GCP GCP Good Clinical Practice GCP Ground Control Point GCP Global Carbon Project GCP Gateway Control Protocol GCP Global Consciousness Project GCP Granulocyte Chemotactic Protein GCP Grand Central Parkway (New York) compliant pilot study was to assess the pharmacokinetic profile of levodopa in the blood of healthy volunteers following application of ND0601. "I am excited to have started the clinical development of ND0601, a transdermal levodopa patch offering great hope for improving the disabling problems common in advanced Parkinson's disease patients Famous people, past and present, with Parkinson's include: Living
Parkinson's disease patients often suffer from dyskinesias (involuntary, disruptive, jerky movements associated with long-term levodopa therapy) and "off" time (periods of immobility) that result from the fluctuations in levodopa blood concentrations inherent with oral administration of levodopa. ND0601 is based on a proprietary formulation containing levodopa ester as a prodrug prodrug /pro·drug/ (-drug) a compound that, on administration, must undergo chemical conversion by metabolic processes before becoming an active pharmacological agent; a precursor of a drug. that enables the continuous delivery of levodopa through the skin, thereby overcoming the limitations of its short half life. The company previously demonstrated success at maintaining steady therapeutic levodopa blood levels in preclinical animal testing. This trial was funded by The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research through its highly competitive 2006 Clinical Discovery Program. About NeuroDerm Ltd. NeuroDerm is a clinical stage pharmaceutical company, specializing in transdermal therapies for CNS See Continuous net settlement. CNS See continuous net settlement (CNS). diseases. NeuroDerm was founded on the basis of research started more than ten years ago to solve the problem of continuous delivery of levodopa in Parkinson's disease. The company's core technology and various formulations are protected by strong, wide scope applications and issued patents. |
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