바이오스펙테이터

바이오스펙테이터 Sungmin Kim 기자

“We believe that exenatide, which is commonly used for treating type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D), has quickened its development pace towards commercialization as a new modality to treat Parkinson’s disease (PD),” said Choi Ho-il, CEO of Peptron. “Thus, we will launch a local phase II clinical trial of PT320, a sustained release (SR) formulation of exenatide, in the middle of 2018 to demonstrate its disease-modifying effects,” he elaborated.

“It is meaningful that Dr. Foltynie and his research team at University College London (UCL) will conduct a large-scale phase III clinical study in 2019 using PT320 in PD patients,” CEO Choi Ho-il noted.

He emphasized: “Since the U.K. study is designed as an investigator initiated trial to explore a PD biomarker and to identify a possible mechanism of action of exenatide in patients, the primary objective will focus on the proof-of-concept exenatide in PD patients. Ultimately, this marketing-oriented study will be a cornerstone to let doctors prescribe PT320 for PD patients with a firm conviction.”

CEO Choi Ho-il’s remarks on new therapeutic possibilities of exenatide are based on the latest study published in The Lancet. In the study conducted June 2014-March 2015, Dr. Foltynie and his team confirmed positive effects of exenatide (Bydureonon, once-weekly formulation, AstraZeneca) on improved motor function in PD patients for 48 weeks, followed by a 12-week washout period....