Amarantus Doses First Patient in Phase 2b Eltoprazine Study for PD-LID

Amarantus BioScience Holdings, Inc., a biotechnology company focused on advancing therapeutic and diagnostic products for orphan and neurologic diseases, recently announced they have dosed the first patient in a Phase 2b clinical trial of flagship neurology pipeline drug eltoprazine, indicated as a potential treatment for Parkinson’s disease levodopa-induced dyskinesia (PD-LID).

“The start of patient dosing in this Phase 2b trial represents a further important milestone in our clinical development program for the treatment of PD-LID. Eltoprazine has the potential to be an impactful therapy for individuals with Parkinson’s disease taking levodopa-based products,” said David A Lowe, Ph.D., Member of the Board of Amarantus BioScience Holdings, Inc. Patient dosing was initiated by principal investigator Stuart H. Isaacson, M.D., Director of the Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders Center of Boca Raton.

Gerald E. Commissiong, President and CEO of Amarantus BioScience Holdings, Inc., added, “With this study now underway, the Company’s clinical development team will now focus on the initiation of our upcoming Phase 2 clinical study of ESS for the treatment of severe burns, expected to open this quarter at a US military center.”

The Phase 2b clinical trial aims to enrol 60 participants, and is a double-blind, placebo-controlled, four-way crossover, dose range finding study that aims to assess the dose response effect of eltoprazine on safety, tolerability and the severity of dyskinesia. Amarantus projects top-line results to be released within the first half of 2016, with plans to conduct further studies in more sites across the US and Europe.

The study is still recruiting. Those interested to participate can visit clinicaltrials.gov and use the identifier: NCT02439125.

In an earlier report on Parkinson’s disease, plans for a new research venture is in the works in the North-West of England through the joint efforts of the Association for the Independence of Disabled People (AID) and medical researchers at Lancaster University. AID was founded by Mr. Paul and the Hon. Mrs. Ruth Adorian of Windermere, following Ruth’s own diagnosis of motor neurone disease (MND). The association is dedicated to raise funds for potentially groundbreaking clinical trials, and since its founding, has successfully raised more than £80,000 before it began reaching to the public for support.