Parkinson's Patient Advocates Call on Amgen to Move Forward with GDNF Clinical Trials

Main Category: Parkinson's Disease
Article Date: 18 Sep 2005 - 18:00 PDT

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Sunday's CBS News program "60 Minutes" profiled several courageous Parkinson's patients who volunteered for Amgen, Inc.'s clinical trials of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), a promising Parkinson's treatment for which the biotech giant company holds the patent. Today, Tuesday, September 13, 2005, a coalition of grassroots Parkinson's patients and organizations published an open letter to Amgen President and CEO Kevin Sharer in a full-page ad in the Ventura County Star, where Amgen is headquartered, urging him to restart human trials of the growth factor or license it to a company that will.

Clinical trials have shown GDNF may be the first treatment to actually reverse the course of this terrible and presently incurable disease. Yet Amgen abruptly halted its own trials, refusing to allow trial participants or researchers any continued use of GDNF. Without GDNF, patients who had recovered their abilities to walk, garden, drive, eat, read, and work have returned to their wheelchairs and walkers.

"The '60 Minutes' segment casts doubt on Amgen's claims that GDNF is ineffective and unsafe," said the group's spokesperson, Ann Wasson. "And new physical evidence from the autopsy of an earlier trial participant proves that GDNF can regenerate the dopamine-producing cells that Parkinson's patients need, and actually reverse the progress of the disease."

"This is a milestone in Parkinson's research, a legitimate hope grounded in scientific data and observation," stated Ms. Wasson, 48, of Kentucky, diagnosed with Parkinson's at age 37.

"There are more than one million people with Parkinson's across America who are slowly succumbing to this debiltating disease. The next five to ten years will not only see the loss of thousands of Americans to complete immobility and death, but will see even more Americans join the ranks of those suffering from Parkinson's disease without hope," said Paula Wittekind, a patient advocate from Florida, who has established a web-site for neurological advocacy, GrassrootsConnection.com.

Clinical Trial Participant and coalition member Roger Thacker, who was featured in the "60 Minutes" segment, said, "GDNF is a means of hope and help for those who suffer from this cruel disease. It could be the miracle needed to save a generation of patients."

"Time is not a luxury that people with Parkinson's disease can afford," said Rees Jenkins, a North Carolina patient advocate. "Delaying access to promising new treatments can mean the difference between life and death for many patients. Restart human clinical trials on GDNF. Do what is right."

Contact:
Ann Wasson
anjeac@yahoo.com
502-895-9707

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