EXCITING PARKINSON’S DISEASE TREATMENT NEWS
New York, NY, January 12, 2015 – The American Parkinson Disease Association is pleased to share with the Parkinson’s community the arrival of two new medications in the treatment arsenal to address Parkinson’s symptoms. Both of these therapies offer a better way to deliver carbidopa/levodopa medication.
RYTARY™, (pronounced rye-TAR-ee) approved by the Food and Drug Administration on January 8 is an extended release formulation of carbidopa/levodopa and is manufactured by Impax Pharmaceuticals. RYTARY™ is designed to address one of the most significant unmet needs for patients living with Parkinson’s disease, which is to reduce the amount of time during the day when their symptoms are not adequately controlled.
This is a significant treatment option for the 1 million patients living with Parkinson’s. Patients who take carbidopa/levodopa may find overtime that the drug becomes less effective and may experience a worsening of symptoms as the drug ceases to work successfully. As Rytary™ is developed to release more slowly over time it will maintain the levodopa levels and will provide greater treatment stability. This treatment will help those in the middle stages of Parkinson Disease who have problems with wearing off of their medication. RYTARY™ contains immediate release and extended-release beads, with a specific amount of carbidopa and levodopa in a 1:4 ratio, and provides both initial and extended levodopa plasma concentrations after a single dose.
RYTARY™ may be swallowed whole or, for patients who have trouble swallowing, the capsule may be opened and the beads sprinkled on applesauce and consumed immediately. It will be available for commercial distribution in February 2015.
Approved January 12 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is DUOPA™ (carbidopa and levodopa) developed by AbbVie an enteral suspension for the treatment of motor fluctuations for people with advanced Parkinson’s disease. DUOPA™ is administered using a small, portable infusion pump that delivers carbidopa and levodopa directly into the small intestine for 16 continuous hours via a procedurally-placed tube.
Duopa™ is the first and only treatment providing 16 continuous hours of carbidopa and levodopa for motor fluctuations in advanced Parkinson Disease. In a clinical trial, patients treated with Duopa™ experienced significantly greater improvement in symptom control than patients treated with oral carbidopa-levodopa immediate release tablets.
Duopa™ is for those patients with advanced Parkinson Disease wearing off or dyskinesia who cannot manage symptoms with regular tablets and other oral medications. In Parkinson disease patients, the spontaneous emptying of the stomach becomes delayed and unpredictable, which can affect the timing of when orally administered medicines leave the stomach and are absorbed in the small intestine.
DUOPA™ provides patients with the same active ingredients as orally-administered carbidopa and levodopa immediate release, but is delivered in a suspension that goes directly into the small intestine via a tube placed by a percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy procedure with jejunal extension (PEG-J). This type of administration is intended to bypass the stomach. Dr. David G. Standaert, Chairman of Scientific & Advisory Board of the American Parkinson Disease Association says, “These are two very exciting new treatments which offer new opportunities to patients at different stages of their disease and help to better control their symptoms.” American Parkinson Disease Association recommends discussing these therapies with your neurologist before making any changes to your treatment plan.
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Disclosure Dr. David G. Standaert has served as a consultant to AbbVie and has conducted research on Duopa.