Lobsor Pharmaceuticals has been granted the US patent covering a pharmaceutical composition for the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson’s disease.

Lobsor has earlier received market authorization by the Swedish Medical Products Agency (MPA) for their lead product, Lecigon, a new therapeutic system for symptomatic treatment of Advanced Parkinson’s disease (APD). Lecigon comprises the kind of pharmaceutical suspension formulation described in the new patent, containing a combination of levodopa/carbidopa and entacapone for continuous infusion into the small intestine through a newly developed lightweight pump. The patent award reinforces the path for introducing a similar treatment in the US through the company’s Partner Intrance Medical Systems Inc.

A novel combination of three active substances already in clinical use

Levodopa (dopamine replacement agent) in combination with carbidopa has been the primary choice of active substance for continuous treatment of advance Parkinson’s. However, such combination exposes patients to high levodopa load, associated with several long-term side effects. To overcome among others this problem, Lobsor has developed a novel combination of three active substances already in clinical use – a dopamine replacement agent, a DD inhibitor (DD=dopamine decarboxylate) and a COMT inhibitor (COMT=catechol-O-methyltransferas). – which is now covered by the new patent.

The patent also includes a method of preparing the suspension and a method of treating a patient using the suspension. The patent is not limited to any amounts or ratios of the three components, which allows Lobsor to vary and tailor the concentration depending on regulatory demands, patient groups and cost etc.

Expires in 2035

“We are delighted to receive this new patent to further protect our treatment system. With the new formulation and lightweight delivery pump, we believe Lecigon will significantly improve convenience and quality of life for Parkinson’s patients. Improving bioavailability and achieving a similar clinical outcome with significantly lower levodopa doses means we can also report significant reductions in 3-OMD, a metabolite in a metabolic complex associated with long term side effects of levodopa,” said Roger Bolsöy, CEO of Lobsor.

The US patent expires in September 2035 and a corresponding patent is also granted in Sweden. Lobsor have co-pending applications for the same invention in Europe, Australia, Canada, China and Japan.

Photo of Roger Bolsöy, CEO, Lobsor Pharmaceuticals