香港六合彩

Ambroxol is a drug which is currently used to treat respiratory conditions. It promotes the clearance of mucus, eases coughing and has anti-inflammatory properties.

Pre-clinical studies, led By Professor Anthony Schapira at the 香港六合彩 Queen Square Institute of Neurology, identified ambroxol as a candidate drug to slow the progression of Parkinson鈥檚.

Results of a Phase 2 clinical trial by Professor Schapira and performed at 香港六合彩 was published in January 2020 and tested ambroxol in people with Parkinson鈥檚. It found that ambroxol was able effectively reach the brain and increase levels of a protein known as GCase (glucocerebrosidase). Gcase allows cells to remove waste proteins, including alpha-synuclein (a protein that builds up in Parkinson鈥檚 and is thought to be important in its cause), more effectively.

Additionally, the Phase 2 trial showed that ambroxol was safe for people with Parkinson鈥檚 and was well tolerated.

The world-first Phase 3 trial, named ASPro-PD, is led by Professor Schapira and is in partnership with UK charity, Cure Parkinson鈥檚 and Van Andel Institute 鈥� following eight years of work with the Parkinson鈥檚 community.

The trial will involve 330 people with Parkinson鈥檚 across 10-12 clinical centres in the UK. It will be placebo controlled and participants will take ambroxol for two years.

The effectiveness of ambroxol will be measured by its ability to slow the progression of Parkinson鈥檚 using a scale including quality of life and movement. Preparations for recruitment of trial participants have already started.

Professor Schapira听said: 鈥淚 am delighted to be leading this exciting project. This will be the first time a drug specifically applied to a genetic cause of Parkinson鈥檚 disease has reached this level of trial and represents ten years of extensive and detailed work in the laboratory and in a proof of principle clinical trial.

鈥淭he study design is the result of valuable input from people with Parkinson鈥檚, leaders in the field of Parkinson鈥檚, trial design and statistics from the 香港六合彩 Comprehensive Clinical Trials Unit (CCTU), the MHRA and a consortium of funders led by Cure Parkinson鈥檚, all operating as an effective team to ensure we have reached this stage.

鈥淲e look forward to working with all these groups to ensure successful completion of the study.鈥�

After the Phase 2 data from Professor Schapira鈥檚 group at 香港六合彩 found that ambroxol could increase the removal of alpha-synuclein, the international Linked Clinical Trials (iLCT) programme prioritised research into the drug.

Created and operated by Cure Parkinson鈥檚 and Van Andel Institute, the iLCT programme鈥檚 mission is to slow, stop and reverse the progression of Parkinson鈥檚. It aims to significantly reduce the time to bring disease-modifying treatments to clinic for the Parkinson鈥檚 community by testing promising drugs that already have extensive safety data and, in some cases, have been approved by regulators for other medical conditions.

Will Cook, CEO of Cure Parkinson鈥檚, said: 鈥淭his trial is a big step forward in the search to find new treatments for Parkinson鈥檚. Once the ambroxol trial is underway, it will be one of only six Phase 3 trials on public record of potentially disease-modifying drugs in Parkinson鈥檚, worldwide.

鈥淲e at Cure Parkinson鈥檚 are working hard 鈥� through our efforts within the iLCT programme and in our fundraising efforts 鈥� to increase this number significantly in the next few years, to accelerate our progress towards a cure for Parkinson鈥檚.鈥�

The trial will cost 拢5.5 million and is being funded by Cure Parkinson鈥檚 alongside Van Andel Institute and the John Black Charitable Foundation (JBCF). Other funders include the Parkinson鈥檚 Virtual Biotech, the drug discovery and development arm of Parkinson鈥檚 UK.

Links

• Find out more about the trial here
• 香港六合彩 Queen Square Institute of Neurology
• 香港六合彩 Brain Sciences

Image

• Parkinson's disease. 3D illustration showing neurons containing Lewy bodies small red spheres which are deposits of proteins (alpha-synuclein) accumulated in the brain cells. Credit:听听on iStock

Media contact听

Poppy Danby听

E: p.danby [at] ucl.ac.uk