Parkinson's Patch Enters Phase II

Discovery Therapeutics has started a pivotal Phase II study of its transdermal patch product for Parkinson's disease. The patch delivers a dopamine D2 receptor agonist, codenamed N-0923, which Discovery says is the only drug of this type which has been demonstrated in human trials to be efficacious when delivered across the skin.

The double-blind study will enroll up to 75 patients with moderate-to-severe Parkinson's at centers across the USA and Canada. Treatment will be continued for 21 days, with weekly assessments for efficacy. Other studies have shown that the patch can control symptoms in these patients for at least 30 hours. N-0923 will be used as an adjunct to levodopa/carbidopa therapy, and primary endpoints of the study will be a reduction in the use of these drugs and symptomatic improvement.