Sixty-One Percent of Newly Diagnosed Parkinson's Disease Patients Do Not Receive Any Drug Treatment in the First Year of Diagnosis

Levodopa Remains the Most Widely Prescribed Drug for Parkinson's Disease,

According to a New Report from Decision Resources

    WALTHAM, Mass., Aug. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Decision Resources, one of the
 world's leading research and advisory firms focusing on pharmaceutical and
 healthcare issues, finds that 61 percent of newly diagnosed Parkinson's
 disease patients do not receive any drug treatment in the first year of
 diagnosis. According to the new report entitled Treatment Algorithms for
 Parkinson's Disease, failure of newly diagnosed Parkinson's disease
 patients to receive pharmacological treatment within the first 12 months of
 diagnosis likely occurs as a result of patients' decisions to delay
 treatment until symptoms become sufficiently troublesome. Furthermore,
 because the guidelines of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) do not
 define specific time periods for when treatment should be initiated,
 patients may be reluctant to begin levodopa therapy, such as with Bristol
 Myers Squibb's Sinemet, knowing that side-effects will arise, specifically
 motor response complications.
     Levodopa provides greater motor benefit than dopamine agonists, such as
 GlaxoSmithKline's Requip or Boehringer Ingelheim's Mirapex, but inevitably
 results in the development of levopoda-induced side effects, including
 dyskinesias, off time (sudden motor switches between normal and Parkinson
 movements) and wearing-off complications (shortened periods of benefit
 after each levodopa use).
     "Levodopa continues to be the gold-standard Parkinson's disease
 treatment, with 99% of neurologists and 95% of PCPs we surveyed currently
 prescribing it in their Parkinson's disease practice," said Nicole
 Westphal, Ph.D., analyst at Decision Resources. "However, first-line
 levodopa use will decrease over the next two years as physicians
 increasingly use levodopa-sparing approaches. Patient demand for
 well-tolerated, levodopa-sparing treatments will continue to drive
 increases in dopamine agonist patient share first line. Patients will
 benefit from the introduction of new agents, including new formulations and
 line extensions within the dopamine agonist class. However,
 GlaxoSmithKline's Requip will face generic competition in 2008, so the
 overall market for dopamine agonists will begin to diminish, despite the
 launch of new agents in this class."
     About Treatment Algorithm Insight Series
     Decision Resources combines in-depth primary research with the most
 extensive claims-based longitudinal patient-level data from PharMetrics(R)
 to provide exceptional insight into physicians' prescribing trends and the
 factors that drive therapy product choice, from diagnosis through multiple
 courses of treatment, for a specific disease.
     For each disease examined, Decision Resources' Treatment Algorithms
 Insight Series provides:
     -- Summary of U.S. medical practice based on interviews with leading
        experts in the field
     -- Qualitative diagnosis/referral/treatment algorithm for the
        United States
     -- Drug usage by lines of therapy (1st, 2nd, 3rd line)
     -- Discussion of key freeform combinations by lines of therapy
     -- Product share (class and specific compound level) within each line of
        therapy (1st, 2nd, 3rd line)
     -- Progression of therapy from key 1st line products
     -- Pathway to key therapies from previous therapies
     -- Qualitative analysis of 2-year forecast incorporating upcoming
        launches, changes in reimbursement, etc.
     About Decision Resources
     Decision Resources, Inc., (www.DecisionResources.com) is a world leader
 in healthcare market research publications, advisory services, and
 consulting designed to help clients shape strategy, allocate resources, and
 master their chosen markets.
     All company, brand, or product names contained in this document may be
 trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.
     For more information, contact:
     Elizabeth Marshall
     Decision Resources, Inc.
     781-296-2563
     emarshall@dresources.com
 
 

SOURCE Decision Resources