Tianbian Mitsubishi's $1.1 billion acquisition of neuroderm as Parkinson's potential drug

Source: Sina Pharmaceutical News on July 25, 2017, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma, a Japanese pharmaceutical company, recently announced that it had signed a $1.1 billion acquisition agreement with neuroderm, an Israeli pharmaceutical company, to acquire all outstanding shares of neuroderm at a price of $39 per share Upon completion of the acquisition, neuroderm will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Tianbian Mitsubishi Neuroderm, a developer of central nervous system therapy, is currently focusing on developing a range of drug device combinations for Parkinson's disease treatment Its leading product nd0612 has launched phase III clinical research in the United States and the European Union In view of the importance of controlling blood levodopa (L-dopa) level in the treatment of Parkinson's disease, nd0612 is expected to be used in patients with Parkinson's disease in the late stage, as well as in patients with Parkinson's disease whose motor complications are no longer effectively controlled by oral levodopa It is worth mentioning that neuroderm is the first pharmaceutical company in the world to develop liquid levodopa and carbidopa The acquisition of Parkinson's disease products will further expand the product portfolio of central nervous system of Tianbian Mitsubishi in the U.S market The company has planned to introduce the new drug radicava (edaravone, edaravone) to the U.S market in the next few months The drug was approved by the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in May this year for ALS, Commonly known as "gradually frozen human disease") Radicava is a neuroprotective agent, which can effectively clean up free radicals and protect nerves from oxidative stress and neuron apoptosis It is also the first ALS therapy approved by FDA in the past 22 years The addition of nd0612 will help the company reach its target of 80 billion yen (about $725 million) in U.S market sales in fiscal year 2020, Mr Tian said At the end of June this year, neuroderm released exciting nd0612 phase II clinical data at the third European Society of Neurology (ENA) conference Data shows that up to 42% of Parkinson's disease patients, nd0612 completely prevented the so-called "off episodes" - the "freezing" symptoms such as muscle rigidity, slow movement and difficulty in starting movement during the interval of taking medicine (Note: Patients with Parkinson's disease will have intermittent general paralysis every day, losing muscle control and language communication ability, which is called off episodes in medicine) In clinical treatment, "closure symptoms" remain a major problem in the population of patients taking levodopa for a long time; it is estimated that up to 50% of patients who have been treated for 5 years or longer will have "closure symptoms" Nd0612 can be injected subcutaneously for 24 hours through a convenient and small wearable device By maintaining a stable blood level of levodopa, nd0612 is expected to reduce shutdown symptoms and motor disorders, which is the most common complication of anti Parkinson drugs on the market Parkinson's disease is the second largest neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer's disease There are as many as 7-10 million patients worldwide It is caused by the death and loss of dopamine producing neurons in the brain At present, nd0612 is being developed in two types, one is bandage pump, the other is patch pump, which is used for the treatment of moderate and severe Parkinson's disease If phase III clinical is successfully completed and regulatory approval is obtained, the product is expected to go on sale in 2019 In addition to nd0612, neuroderm has also developed another product nd0701, an apomorphine pump combination, for patients with severe Parkinson's disease; another product nd0801 is in phase II clinical practice, which releases nicotine and opioid through transdermal patch to treat cognitive impairment.