Product: Innovative Treatment for Parkinson's Disease Company: NeuroDerm Start of Development: 2008
In July 2017, Israeli media was all abuzz when the renowned Japanese corporation Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma announced that it would be acquiring Israeli bio-med company NeuroDerm for 1.1 billion dollars. It was the biggest acquisition of an Israeli pharma company to date.
NeuroDerm was founded in 2003 within the Ofakim incubator to improve the quality of life of patients with Parkinson’s disease.
In 2008, company scientists, under the leadership of Dr. Oded Lieberman, came up with a new technology that also focused on Parkinson’s disease and held great promise for the treatment of central nervous system disorders. Over the years, NeuroDerm advanced its program and became a leading player in Parkinson’s – an incurable disease that progressively impairs patients’ functioning.
Today, the most commonly used treatment for Parkinson’s is orally administered Levodopa. The drug compensates for the dopamine deficiencies characteristic of the disorder, alleviating the motor complications of Parkinson’s. However, its oral delivery system has significant disadvantages. Levodopa is rapidly metabolized in the bloodstream, and so oral administration of the drug does not allow for a steady level in the bloodstream, introducing motor complications of its own.
NeuroDerm altered the Levodopa formulation, turning it into a liquid formulation, a feat thought impossible until then. Continuous delivery of the new molecule ND0612 into the bloodstream bypasses many of the unwanted side effects of the drug in its tablet form, offering patients hope for a new quality of life.
At the same time, NeuroDerm developed an innovative deliverydevice to facilitate the administration of ND0612. Instead of being infused through the stomach, the patient would wear a small device with a tiny needle and a mini-pump. The innovative delivery system allows the direct penetration of the drug into the bloodstream, bypassing the digestive tract. This has been shown in clinical trials to cause a significant reduction in Parkinson’s symptoms. This important, scientific breakthrough means that the use of the innovative device provides advanced, friendly, accessible, convenient, and available treatment.
ND0612 is currently in phase three of the clinical trials, with results projected in 2018. Dr. Lieberman, CEO of NeuroDerm, believes that the acquisition of the company by the Japanese corporation which specializes in development and commercialization in the field of neurology will allow more accessible, rapid treatment.
