October 20, 1999
Novartis Can Sell Parkinson's Drug Comtan In U.S.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Novartis Pharmaceutical Corp. said Wednesday that
it had received approval from the Food and Drug Administration to market
Comtan, a new medication for Parkinson's disease, in the United States.
Comtan, which can help improve motor performance in people with
Parkinson's, was previously approved for marketing in more than 35
countries, the U.S. subsidiary of Swiss drug maker Novartis AG said.
Comtan belongs to a new class of drugs called COMT inhibitors that can
enhance the effectiveness of levodopa, a generic drug often used to
treat the neurological disease, which causes spreading tremors and
worsening muscular weakness.
The addition of Comtan to the treatment regimen allows patients to
function more independently and for longer periods of time between doses
and display fewer of the burdensome symptoms of the disease, Novartis
said.
COMT inhibitors block the COMT enzyme, reducing the breakdown of
levodopa before it reaches the brain and ensuring efficient use of the
drug. The two drugs are administered simultaneously.
Three recent studies in North America, Scandinavia and Germany showed
that Comtan helped improve motor function in patients with a
deteriorating response to levodopa, particularly in areas such as
speech, handwriting, walking and dressing.
Parkinson's disease, which can also result in muscular rigidity, is
believed caused by the death of nerve cells that normally produce
dopamine, a brain messenger chemical that plays a key role in
controlling movement.
Levodopa, developed in the late 1960s, is converted by the body into
dopamine. It is sold by DuPont Co.'s DuPont Pharmaceuticals unit under
the brand name Sinemet and by other companies under different brand
names.
Patients typically get good symptom relief after beginning to use
levodopa but then require ever-increasing amounts of the drug to obtain
the same benefits.
Many also experience side effects such as severe involuntary movements
that can be as disabling as the disease itself or worse.
Comtan is marketed in the United States by Novartis under a licensing
agreement with Orion Corp. of Finland.
Copyright © 1996-1999 Reuters Limited.
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Judith Richards, London, Ontario, Canada
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