Synosia initiates Ph IIa trial of PD drug

Switzerland's Synosia Therapeutics has initiated a proof-of-mechanism trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of nitisinone (SYN-118), a potent and selective inhibitor of hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase, as a treatment for Parkinson's disease.

HPPD is an enzyme in the primary pathway responsible for the catabolism of tyrosine, the precursor of the neurotransmitter dopamine. This novel intervention point in the dopamine pathway offers the potential to induce a sustained increase in dopamine synthesis in the brain of PD patients to improve the control of motor symptoms with an improved side effect profile compared to current therapy.

The dose-escalation trial is being conducted at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm using positron emission tomography and clinical ratings such as the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale to evaluate efficacy, Synosia stated.