Dive Brief:
- Newron Pharma's Xadago (safinamide) has been approved in the EU for the treatment of mid-to-late stage fluctuating patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) as add-on therapy to a stable dose of levodopa (l-dopa) as monotherapy or combination therapy, according to Seeking Alpha.
- Xadago is the first new drug approved in the E.U. in the last 10 years for the treatment of PD.
- Xadago has a unique mode of action (MOA) that actually includes several modes of action combined, including selective and reversible monoamine oxidase (MAO-B) inhibition, use-dependent sodium channels blockade, and calcium channels modulation.
Dive Insight:
The Parkinson's Disease Foundation estimates that 7 to 10 million people worldwide have PD. Despite the fact that there are existing treatments, there continues to be an unmet medical need for new drugs with new and unique modes of action.
That's where Xadago comes in. The drug's design allows it to modulate abnormal glutamate release, a critical function, since glutamate plays an important role in neural activation.
Newron Pharmaceuticals is based in Italy, as is Zambon, the company that will be commercializing the drug.