NeuroDerm Awarded $1M by The Michael J. Fox Foundation for the Clinical Development of ND0612 for Parkinson's Disease

NESS ZIONA, Israel, June 3, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

NeuroDerm, Ltd. was informed today that it was awarded, for the second time, a grant of $1M by The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research (MJFF) to support the clinical development of its subcutaneously delivered drug for the treatment of Parkinson's disease. These funds, part of the Foundation's 2013 Therapeutic Pipeline program, will support an upcoming phase 2 clinical trial with ND0612, a novel drug for the treatment of Parkinson's disease. ND0612 is a proprietary levodopa/carbidopa liquid formula under development for continuous administration through a sub-cutaneous delivery patch that would maintain constant levodopa plasma concentrations.

ND0612 has so far been shown in human trials to be safe and tolerable and, for the first time in man, to maintain steady state, clinically meaningful levodopa plasma concentrations. ND0612 can be administered subcutaneously in a convenient manner and has the potential to significantly improve the current standard of treatment of Parkinson's disease patients.

"ND0612's potential ability to provide steady, therapeutic levodopa levels could improve upon current symptomatic treatments for Parkinson's patients," said Todd Sherer, PhD, CEO of MJFF. "Finding such a drug remains a priority for the Foundation"

"We thank The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research for awarding NeuroDerm $1M for the second time to support its clinical development program in Parkinson's disease, which highlights the promise that ND0612 has for Parkinson's disease patients. ND0612 achieved steady state levodopa plasma levels both day and night, thus raising hopes of significantly improving the lives of Parkinson's disease patients," said Oded S. Lieberman, PhD, NeuroDerm's CEO. "NeuroDerm is committed to find new, better treatment options for Parkinson's disease. The support of The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research is an enormous show of faith in our program for which we are grateful."

About Parkinson's Disease

Parkinson's disease affects approximately 6M patients in the world. It is caused by decreasing dopamine signaling in the brain as dopaminergic brain cells die off. Levodopa is the "Gold Standard" therapy for Parkinson's disease and virtually all patients receive it. When administered through the oral route, however, levodopa combined with a decarboxylase inhibitor (carbidopa or benserazide) demonstrates a short clearance half-life and low bioavailability that contribute to motor complications in Parkinson's disease patients. Stable levodopa blood levels have been the main challenge of Parkinson's drug therapy, and ways to achieve this have been under investigation for several decades.

About ND0612

ND0612 is based on a proprietary sub-cutaneous levodopa/carbidopa drug formulation that bypasses the digestive tract. It continuously delivers levodopa to achieve straight-line and clinically-significant levodopa blood levels. It also delivers subcutaneous carbidopa to improve the bioavailability of levodopa. ND0612 is being developed for administration via a subcutaneous delivery patch as a new treatment and intervention option in Parkinson's disease treatment. It should significantly improve the management of motor fluctuations even in patients under the best current standard of care with oral levodopa therapy.

About NeuroDerm

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NeuroDerm Awarded $1M by The Michael J. Fox Foundation for the Clinical Development of ND0612 for Parkinson's Disease