Schwarz Parkinson’s patch receives new EU approval

Schwarz Pharma has received a recommendation to extend its marketing authorisation for its Neupro (rotigotine transdermal patch) combination therapy treatment for advanced stage Parkinson’s disease by the European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use.

When approval is granted the company will be permitted to market the treatment throughout the EU.

Neupro is a non-ergoline dopamine receptor-agonist delivered by a transdermal patch that is applied to the skin to release rotigotine – the active ingredient – over a 24 hour period. It is already currently available throughout Europe as a monotherapy treatment for patients in the early stages of Parkinson’s disease.

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

She added that the combination of the company’s novel Parkinson’s patch with the new rotigotine compound can control patients symptoms over 24 hours, reporting that clinical trials had shown an increase in time without dyskinesia in patients testing the treatment.

The company recently announced positive results for the phase III clinical trials of rotigotine for the treatment of Ekbom’s syndrome, also known as restless legs syndrome, a neurological disease that affects up to ten per cent of the population.