SkyePharma Parkinson’s treatment gains approval

SkyePharma has announced that Requip (ropinirole) has been granted regulatory approval in France as a treatment for Parkinson’s disease, with further approvals of the drug in Europe anticipated by the firm.

The company’s partner for the pharmaceutical product, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), has received approval to market the drug in Canada, Estonia, Latvia, Slovakia and Slovenia.

Requip is an orally-administered non-ergot dopamine agonist indicated as a treatment for Parkinson’s disease. This formulation of the compound uses SkyPharma’s own Geomatrix technology to facilitate once-daily administration rather than three doses each day.

GSK has conducted two clinical studies to aid the registration of this formulation of ropinirole in Europe, with trials of the compound as a monotherapy in early cases of Parkinson’s disease and an adjunct treatment with levodpa in more advanced cases.

Frank Condella, chief executive officer of SkyePharma, said: “We are pleased to announce the French approval of Requip, a significant step in the roll-out of ropinirole prolonged-release tablets across the continent.”

He added that the firm predicted additional approval to soon be granted to the compound to facilitate the marketing of the drug in other European Union member states.

Earlier this month, SkyePharma reported that the once-daily formulation of its Parkinson’s disease drug could provide significant patient benefit with the potential for improved compliance.