Boehringer Ingelheim releases new restless legs syndrome drug data

Boehringer Ingelheim has released another set of data for pramipexole, marketed in the UK as Mirapexin.

Yesterday, the pharmaceutical company demonstrated new clinical trial results showing how the drug can improve motivational and depressive symptoms in patients with Parkinson’s disease.

Now, Boehringer Ingelheim has said that pramipexole can offer patients with restless legs syndrome (RLS) “clinically meaningful” improvements in symptoms measured by the international restless legs scale.

The trial, which involved 564 patients taking pramipexole and 220 receiving the placebo, showed that improvements were measured in the pramipexole group in daily activities, mood disturbance and the need to move because of discomfort.

Professor John W Winkelman, medical director of the sleep health centre at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, commented: “Patients with RLS need treatment that will help to improve all of their symptoms in the night and day-time.”

“The new evidence presented today gives both clinicians and patients the confidence that pramipexole can be used to address the key aspects of this chronic condition,” he added.

Pramipexole is often used in combination with levodopa in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease, although it can also be used effectively on its own.

In February, Boehringer Ingelheim received a positive recommendation from the European Medicines Agency for using pramipexole in the treatment of RLS.