For a New Drug Targeting Treatment-Related Dyskinesias in Parkinson's Disease, Surveyed U.S. Neurologists Welcome Superior Efficacy to Amantadine But Remain Price Sensitive

BURLINGTON, Mass., April 17, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Decision Resources, one of the world's leading research and advisory firms for pharmaceutical and healthcare issues, finds that surveyed U.S. neurologists indicate that the most important drug attribute for a therapy targeting treatment-related dyskinesias in Parkinson's disease (PD), in addition to effect on dyskinesias, is price per day. This finding may be attributable, in part, to the generic availability of amantadine (Novartis/Alliance Pharma's Symmetrel, other brands, generics), the current pharmacological standard of care for managing such symptoms. Price sensitivity is also evident among surveyed managed care organization (MCO) pharmacy directors, nearly half of whom indicate their willingness to reimburse an anti-dyskinesia agent that commands a significant price premium over amantadine only if it proves 40 percent more efficacious than amantadine.

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The DecisionBase 2013 report entitled How Do Surveyed Neurologists and Payers Perceive New Therapies for Levodopa-Induced Dyskinesias? also finds that surveyed U.S. and European neurologists agree that addressing motor response complications (such as motor fluctuations and dyskinesias) in intermediate through advanced PD remains an area of moderate unmet need, among the efficacy domains assessed in the report. A finding that likely stems from the lingering unmet need in this arena is that surveyed U.S. neurologists expect Novartis's mavoglurant, a metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 antagonist in development for PD dyskinesias, will earn a modest estimated 25 percent patient share of their intermediate through advanced PD patients. 

"Our analysis of physician survey data indicates that targeting dyskinesias is a key opportunity for differentiation in intermediate through advanced PD," said Decision Resources Analyst Nadja Rozovsky, Ph.D. "Indeed, drug developers have increasingly targeted PD dyskinesias as an attractive commercial prospect, with several agents in late-stage development targeting this treatment-related complication."

The report also finds that surveyed MCO pharmacy directors are generally receptive to new PD therapies that offer improvements on motor fluctuations and psychotic symptoms over currently available therapies. In a head-to-head trial, Impax Laboratories/GlaxoSmithKline's emerging agent Rytary - a reformulation of levodopa (Bristol-Myers Squibb/DuPont Pharma's Sinemet, Sinemet CR, other brands, generics) - showed an effect on motor fluctuations that, consistent with our survey results, likely will be sufficient to persuade surveyed MCO pharmacy directors to include the product on formularies should the drug launch.

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SOURCE Decision Resources