Vectura's inhaled PD drug impresses at Ph II

UK-based pulmonary drug developer Vectura says that it has achieved positive results in a Phase II trial of its developmental Parkinson's disease treatment, VR040. The drug, which is a proprietary formulation of apomorphine delivered via inhalation, is designed to combat the debilitating "off" periods associated with the disease.

The results showed that VR040 rapidly brought about a statistically-significant improvement in Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale III (UPDRS) in comparison with placebo. The drug also conferred a higher degree of mobility restoration, allowing 81% of patients treated to achieve responses comparable to those demonstrated during levodopa dosing.

Principal investigator Donald Grosset, a consultant neurologist at the Southern General Hospital in Glasgow, Scotland, commented that "the data support the clinical effectiveness of VR040 in Parkinson's disease." Dr Grosset added that "this new non-invasive way of delivering apomorphine quickly and efficiently to the bloodstream translates into a very rapid onset of action." Vectura now plans to determine the optimal dosage of the drug in further studies.