OBM's ProSavin boosts UPDRS up to 50%

UK-based Oxford BioMedica has reported more promising results from the low-dose cohort of the Phase I/II trial of its novel gene therapy ProSavin for the treatment of Parkinson's disease.

The three patients that received the low dose of ProSavin demonstrated improvements in their Unified PD Rating Scale motor "off" scores in the range of 10%-50% after six months. One patient showed an improvement of up to 50%, which was an increase from the three-month assessment, and another patient maintained an improvement of 30%. The firm notes that the patient showing the least improvement of 10% at the six-month assessment, compared to 23% at three months, may have been affected by adjustments to his levodopa "equivalent" therapy. After six months, there is still no evidence of adverse events or immunologic reactions and all patients have shown improvement in Quality of Life.

Chief executive John Dawson said he looked forward to reporting data from the high-dose group in the first half of 2009. However, KBC Peel Hunt analyst Paul Cuddon said: "while the data is promising, we would like to see evidence of commercial value ideally to bolster a cash position which is expected to last until 2010." Dr Cuddon retained a "buy" rating for the firm, whereas Seymour Pierce analyst Zhining Xu advised a "hold" rating on OBM stocks until further trial results were announced.