Schwarz Pharma drug approved in Europe for Parkinson’s disease

Schwarz Pharma has announced that it has received marketing authorisation from the European Union for the use of its Neupro (rotigotine transdermal patch) in the treatment of all stages of Parkinson’s disease.

The patch has also been approved for treatment of Parkinson’s as a combination therapy with levodopa.

Neupro is a non-ergoline dopamine receptor-agonist formulated as a patch administered once daily to provide the patient’s body with rotigotine continuously for 24 hours.

It has been available as a monotherapy for the treatment of early stage idiopathic Parkinson’s disease in Europe since March 2006.

Iris Loew-Friedrich, chief scientific officer of Schwarz Pharma, said: “Transdermal administration of a dopamine agonist offers a promising option for patients suffering from Parkinson’s disease.”

She added that rotigotine is combined with novel technology in the patch to enable patients to control their symptoms over a full day and night.

In September, Schwarz Pharma presented new data at the European Federation of Neurological Societies congress held in Glasgow.

The clinical data showed that administration with a Neupro patch in both early and advanced stages of Parkinson’s disease can improve a patient’s quality of sleep, while exhibiting continued improvement of treatment in the long term.