It has been brought to our attention that NT-201 is indeed for the treatment of cervical dystonia and blepharospasm, and not AD.
The American Academy of Neurology (AAN) is hosting its annual meeting in Seattle this week. The independent non-profit academy constitutes the largest group of medical practitioners around the world who treat neurological diseases like Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. The academy was established in 1948 as an international professional association to bring together about 21,000 neurologists worldwide to provide the best possible care to patients while enhancing the research environment for the members. This is the academy’s 61st annual meeting highlighting new research through key lectures and scientific presentations from the world’s leading neurologists and neuroscientists. They will be recognizing Microsoft co-founder, Paul G. Allen with the award of the 2009 Public Leadership in Neurology alongside several other key members.
The key focus of this meeting has been around recent developments in the Multiple Sclerosis space, especially with Seattle-based Biogen Idec. The company is the world’s largest developer of multiple sclerosis treatments and has recently been in the news for its drug Tysabri (natalizumab). The company has seen quite some ups-and-downs this year on Wall Street as the drug performed well last year and then failed to meet investor expectations earlier this year. The drug pitched about $20 million below sales expectations this month and came under some pressure when it was discovered that 0.1% of the treated patients developed Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy (PML), a fatal brain condition. Despite these problems, Biogen is expecting to present some positive data on clinical trials of both Tysabri and its successor, Avonex that shows better retention times after injection in patients.
Biogen is marketing Tysabri in the US while sharing marketing rights with Elan Pharmaceuticals in Europe. Elan has also suffered from the poor sales results of Tysabri while facing snags in the development of bapineuzumab, its Alzheimer’s drug that is being developed in collaboration with Wyeth. Biogen’s competitors, Germany-based Merck KGaA and Switzerland-based Novartis are developing oral pills for MS. Both companies will also present their positive clinical trial data at the meeting pitching the advantages of oral pills against Biogen’s injection based treatments (Merck’s Cladribine and Novastis’ FTY720).
The meeting is also hosting some new developments in the Alzheimer’s space. Merz Pharmaceuticals is presenting new positive data on three clinical trials with its dementia drug Xeomin (NT-201). The biologic drug has been approved for use in Europe and Canada and the company is looking to market the drug in the US after FDA approval. Also presenting are Quebec-based Bellus Health & Neurochem, who are developing Alzhemed (tramiprosate), an orally-administered small molecule amyloid antagonist that crosses the blood-brain-barrier and blocks the cascade of events that causes plagues in the brain tissue.
The annual meeting abstracts are arranged according to schedule here. Despite the economic effects on the pharmaceutical industry, attendance is expected to be good at the event. It is encouraging to see that some positive developments are to emerge from this meeting. We’ll report on the meeting’s conclusions as the week progresses.
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The information provided in the following statement is incorrect. Merz Pharmaceuticals is presenting new positive data on three clinical trials with its dementia drug Xeomin (NT-201).
NT-201 is a form of botulinum toxin type A without complexing proteins and is being studied for the treatment of cervical dystonia and blepharospasm, not AD.
Thanks for your comment Cate. I apologize for the mistake. NT-201 is indeed for the treatment of cervical dystonia and blepharospasm. My intent was to make note of all treatments presented at AAN that related to movement disorders. The post has been updated.