Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative disease that can be treated with oral levodopa (L-Dopa). L-Dopa is transformed into dopamine through the human body, a chemical that the brain wants to transmit the signals needed for muscle control.
Currently, patients with PE taking L-Dopa may want to take up to six tablets (doses) a day, and patients do not experience “wear” effects between medications. Some patients also revel in an unwanted effect after prolonged treatment, in which their limbs are shaken or reveled in involuntary spasms, known as levodopa-induced dyskinesia (LID).
A company incubated through NTU is recently marketing this new slow-release tablet that delivers L-Dopa over a 24-hour period, which can help alleviate those symptoms. to combat LID and low adherence to patients’ medications, in which they do not take the prescribed L-Dopa tablets daily.
LiberaTx founder Associate Professor Joachim Loo of NTU’s School of Materials Science and Engineering, who also led the research, said encapsulating the drug in a floating microcapsule keeps it in the abdomen for an extended period of time. and control its speed.
“We hope that reducing the dose to a single time per day will contribute in particular to patient adherence, decrease the tablet load in those patients, while reducing the downtime experienced by these patients. This would especially affect patients’ quality of life,” the teacher added. Sink.
“We have designed our microcapsules in the stomach, allowing slow but continuous management of medicines in the upper intestine for greater absorption. This is essential to maintain the concentration of drugs in the blood, so that dopamine grades in the brain remain constant for extended periods rather than fluctuating, as is the case with existing tablets. “
The LiberaTx team is planning clinical trials in Singapore to test its effectiveness and has started talks with Professor Louis Tan, senior neurology consultant and deputy research director at singapore’s National Institute of Neurosciences (NNI).
Professor Tan said: “People with Parkinson’s disease (PE) want to take levodopa up to six times a day and at constant times to avoid the effect of wear; a wait of only 30 minutes to take the next dose can result in a marked accumulating symptoms such as tremors and muscle stiffness. “
“This new drug formula of the NTU team has the prospect of allowing oral management of levodopa on a normal and sustained basis for 24 hours, which will prolong the effectiveness of levodopa in patients with Parkinson’s disease who suffer the effects of levodopa ‘wear’. It can also prevent you from progressing the annoying long-term motor headaches of “wear” and lid when you start in patients with early PE. »
Parkinson’s disease remedy drugs have an estimated pharmaceutical market of US$8. 38 billion through 2026, as reported through Fortune Business Insights in 2019.
In addition to its use for better management of Parkinson’s disease symptoms, this formula will also treat and the patient’s adherence to their treatment, especially for patients undergoing long-term treatment.
Low adherence to prescription drugs remains the main explanation of subopteragen clinical outcomes for many diseases. A recent world health organization (WHO) report noted that the average default rate is 50% among patients with chronic diseases, and that it does not explain unusual why they are oblivion and complex remedy regimens.
If proven to be effective for Parkinson’s disease remedy, this oral microcapsule can be tested in patients with other situations that require multiple medications depending on the day. The team revealed knowledge (in a patent application, see below) related to the use of the microcapsule for the slow release of medicines in the control of chronic diseases, such as hypertension, hypertension and diabetes.
In tests with the drug metformin used in the diabetes remedy, which increases insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance; with phenofibrate, which improves the healing effects of metformin and provides cardioprotection; and with isoniazide and etambutol used in the remedy of tuberculosis; each was loaded into the microcapsules in laboratory experiments that used simulated gastric fluid and demonstrated a controlled release of the drug over a period of up to 50 hours.
How the new microencapsulation works
FDA-approved materials, poly-L-lactide (PLLA) and poly (caprolactone) (PCL) are used to manufacture microcapsules, which are metabolized into carbon dioxide and water in the human body.
These microcapsules are then loaded with DP drugs, which are located in the hollow space and in the microcapsule wrap, being hollow, those microparticles above the gastric juices in the abdomen and remain in the abdomen.
Two separate studies have been published on the effects of animal studies, and their effects recommend that the tablet can administer medications over a 24-hour period, paving the way for long-term clinical trials.
Recent pharmacokinetic studies of new microencapsulation formulations, which examine the movement of drugs in the body, have also shown that new formulations have a longer half-life and average dwelling time (how long the molecule spends in the body) advances the bioavailability of medications, compared to existing L-Dopa tablets or formulations used in the clinic.
This new generation patented through NTUitive, NTU’s innovation and business company, is now advertised through LiberaTx. The launch recently gained a pre-start investment through the NTU Strategic Research Innovation Fund (SRIF).
The start-up is now running with clinical partners to plan clinical trials and is now raising budgets to allow and execute this in Singapore and/or jurisdictions. It also plans to expand its clinical activities to markets when the clinical trial is completed.