Eli Lilly, Michael J. Fox And Medtronic Team To Battle Parkinson's

Editor's Choice
Main Category: Parkinson's Disease
Article Date: 27 Apr 2011 - 10:00 PDT

email to a friend   printer friendly   opinions  

In Eli Lilly's company description, they call themselves "innovative." Today they proved that they are at least trying to stay true as a new announcement between the pharma giant and partner Medtonic will attempt to battle Parkinson's disease (PD) by attempting to formulate a solution that involves an implantable drug delivery system.

The real strength is in Lilly's biologic prowness in the form of a modified form of glial cell derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), now to be combined Medtronic's implantable drug infusion system technology.

Medtronic has developed a drug pump and specially designed catheter to enable precise delivery of the GDNF variant into a targeted area of the brain consistently over time. This combination paired with an optimized delivery system, has the potential to impact the neurodegeneration that leads to worsening symptoms and progression of Parkinson's disease.

Michael L. Hutton, Ph.D., chief scientific officer of the neurodegeneration team at Eli Lilly explains:

"We believe we have biosynthetically engineered this GDNF variant to overcome technical hurdles of previous research in this area and are hopeful that early testing of our biologic with Medtronic's device will provide the necessary data to safely advance into human studies. By collaborating with Medtronic from the earliest phase of research, we are maximizing the potential for this therapy's efficient and effective development."

From the other side of the partnership, Steve Oesterle, M.D., senior vice president of Medicine and Technology at Medtronic says:

"Our collaboration with Lilly is bringing together the expertise of both companies to develop a new approach to the treatment of Parkinson's disease. One of the most significant challenges in delivering a biologic treatment for neurodegenerative diseases is crossing the blood brain barrier. We have extensive experience in targeted drug delivery and technology that allow delivery of therapeutic agents directly to the brain."

Parkinson's disease is a neurodegenerative condition caused by progressive loss of neurons in the brain that produce dopamine, a chemical messenger responsible for transmitting signals that allow for coordination of movement.

As a result, patients with Parkinson's disease experience balance problems, tremors and muscular stiffness, among other symptoms which worsen over time. It is estimated that 7 million to 10 million people worldwide are living with Parkinson's disease.

In related efforts, the Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI) is a landmark observational clinical study to comprehensively evaluate a cohort of recently diagnosed PD patients and healthy subjects using advanced imaging, biologic sampling and clinical and behavioral assessments to identify biomarkers of Parkinson's disease progression.

PPMI will be carried out over five years at 21 clinical sites in the United States and Europe and requires the participation of 400 Parkinson's patients and 200 control participants. Data and samples acquired from study participants will enable the development of a comprehensive Parkinson's database and biorepository, which will be available to the scientific community to conduct field-changing research.

Katie Hood, CEO of The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research comments:

"While a potential treatment approach resulting from this research is many years away, we are heartened by Lilly and Medtronic's commitment to develop a neurotrophic-based therapy for Parkinson's disease. Our foundation has funded separate, ongoing work in neurotrophic factors for years, and we continue to believe in their promise to lead to a critically needed disease-modifying treatment for Parkinson's."

Sources: Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative and Eli Lilly

Written by Sy Kraft
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

• Additional
• References
• Citations