Biotie awarded USD 2 million grant from The Michael J. Fox Foundation
Biotie Therapies has signed a USD 2 million research contract with The Michael J. Fox Foundation (MJFF) to investigate SYN120 in Parkinson's disease patients with dementia. SYN120 is a dual antagonist of 5-HT6 and 5-HT2a receptors and these two distinct modes of action could result in a unique therapeutic profile for SYN120 combining pro-cognitive and antipsychotic activities.
"There is an urgent need to find safe and effective treatments for Parkinson's patients suffering from impaired cognition," said Timo Veromaa, Chief Executive Officer at Biotie. "We look forward to collaborating with MJFF and the Parkinson Study Group to advance SYN120 into a Phase 2 trial later this year. This grant provides a great opportunity to further characterize the potential of this drug candidate".
MJFF will fund an 80 patient, Phase 2a, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of 16 weeks duration in patients with Parkinson's disease dementia. In addition to assessing safety and tolerability, the main focus of the trial will be to establish efficacy of SYN120 on cognition using the Cognitive Drug Research (CDR) Computerized Cognition Battery as the primary efficacy endpoint. This trial, which is expected to begin in H2 2014, will be conducted by the Parkinson Study Group (PSG) at approximately 10 US sites specializing in cognitive dysfunction in Parkinson's disease.
Biotie retains the rights to SYN120 and will be able to use data from the MJFF-funded study for any future regulatory submission.
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