Eisai Co. Ltd. and Meiji Seika Pharma Co. Ltd. said the phase 2/3 study of investigational drug ME2125 met its main goal in Japanese patients with Parkinson's.
Preliminary results from the clinical trial showed that ME2125, or safinamide mesylate, was better at managing the disease in patients experiencing so-called wearing-off periods when compared to placebo.
The patients were already taking levodopa, one of the main drugs used to treat the disease. However, as the disease progresses, levodopa's duration of effect decreases and Parkinson's symptoms return before the next dose, which is known as the wearing-off phenomenon.
In March 2017, Eisai secured marketing rights in Japan and Asia to Meiji Seika's safinamide.
Meiji will continue clinical trials of the drug and submit a marketing authorization application in Japan in 2018, while Eisai will conduct studies and seek regulatory approval in the rest of Asia.
