Health & Fitness
Health and Fitness
Health and Fitness
Wed, November 24, 2010
Tue, November 23, 2010
XenoPort Awarded Grant from The Michael J. Fox Foundation
SANTA CLARA, Calif.--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--XenoPort, Inc. (NASDAQ:XNPT) announced today that it has been awarded a grant from The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinsona™s Research to support a preclinical study of the efficacy and safety of a novel, orally administered prodrug of acamprosate in reducing L-Dopa induced dyskinesias (LID) in a pre-clinical model of Parkinsona™s disease. The grant of $194,000 was awarded under the Foundation's Therapeutics Development Initiative Fall 2010 Program aimed at supporting preclinical development of Parkinson's disease therapies that have the potential for fundamentally altering disease course and improving treatment of symptoms above and beyond current standards of care.
"We are enthusiastic about partnering in XenoPorta™s preclinical acamprosate prodrug program and are hopeful that this effort will help to speed progress toward a breakthrough treatment for dyskinesia."
aLevodopa-induced dyskinesia is a high-priority research area for The Michael J. Fox Foundation because patients report that it is one of the most disabling aspects of living with Parkinsona™s disease,a said Sohini Chowdhury, Vice President of Research Partnerships, MJFF. aWe are enthusiastic about partnering in XenoPorta™s preclinical acamprosate prodrug program and are hopeful that this effort will help to speed progress toward a breakthrough treatment for dyskinesia.a
XenoPort-sponsored preclinical studies have previously shown that acamprosate decreases LID in a rodent model of Parkinsona™s disease. XenoPorta™s award from The Michael J. Fox Foundation will support a preclinical study that will be conducted in collaboration with researchers at The Parkinsona™s Institute in Sunnyvale, California to evaluate the effectiveness of XenoPorta™s acamprosate prodrug to inhibit LID.
Functional interactions between the dopamine and glutamate neurotransmission pathways are thought to play a role in the induction and maintenance of LID. Acamprosate calcium has been shown to inhibit glutamate release and is used clinically for the treatment of alcohol relapse, but the current formulation of acamprosate has low oral bioavailability and can cause gastrointestinal (GI) disturbances (emesis and nausea) following administration. To address these limitations, XenoPort has designed a novel prodrug of acamprosate that appears to be more readily absorbed after oral administration. This allows a similar or higher exposure to acamprosate to be achieved with a lower dose. In addition to evaluating inhibition of LID, the study is designed to confirm that the potential anti-LID efficacy of acamprosate does not interfere with the anti-parkinsonian effect of L-Dopa treatment.
Ronald W. Barrett, Ph.D., chief executive officer of XenoPort, said, aWe are pleased to be the recipient of The Michael J. Fox Foundation award. This enables us to extend our preclinical studies of this novel acamprosate prodrug, which we hope will validate this approach to reducing LID in patients with Parkinsona™s disease.a
About Parkinson's Disease and LID
Parkinsona™s disease is a chronic, degenerative neurological disorder that results from the loss of dopamine-producing nerve cells in the brain. Dopamine is a chemical that is naturally produced by the body. It is responsible for smooth, coordinated function of the bodya™s muscles and movement. When approximately 80% of dopamine-producing cells are damaged, the symptoms of Parkinsona™s disease appear. The primary symptoms of Parkinsona™s disease are tremor, rigidity and slowness of movement, as well as non-movement-related symptoms including problems with sleep and digestion, cognitive dysfunction, and mood disorders such as depression and apathy. Levodopa/carbidopa is currently the most effective treatment for the motor symptoms of Parkinsona™s disease. Unfortunately, this therapy is complicated by inducing potentially disabling involuntary movements or LID.
It is estimated that as many as 1.5 million people in North America are living with Parkinsona™s disease. According to the National Institute of Neurodegenerative Disease and Stroke (NIH), the average age of onset is 60, though some people are diagnosed at age 40 or younger.
About The Michael J. Fox Foundation
MJFF is dedicated to finding a cure for Parkinson's disease through an aggressively funded research agenda and to ensuring the development of improved therapies for those living with Parkinson's today. The Foundation has funded nearly $214 million in research to date. For more information, visit [ www.michaeljfox.org ].
About XenoPort
XenoPort, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing a portfolio of internally discovered product candidates that utilize the bodya™s natural nutrient transport mechanisms to improve the therapeutic benefits of existing drugs. XenoPort is developing its lead product candidate in collaboration with Astellas Pharma Inc. and GlaxoSmithKline. XenoPorta™s product candidates are being studied for the potential treatment of restless legs syndrome, gastroesophageal reflux disease, neuropathic pain, spasticity and Parkinsona™s disease.
To learn more about XenoPort, please visit the web site at [ www.XenoPort.com ].
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains aforward-lookinga statements, including, without limitation, all statements related to XenoPorta™s future development of its prodrug of acamprosate, including its potential as a treatment of patients with Parkinsona™s disease, future preclinical work and further advancement of the acamprosate prodrug development, and the timing thereof. Any statements contained in this press release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Words such as aappears,a aestimated,a ahope,a ahopeful,a apotential,a awilla and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based upon XenoPort's current expectations. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. XenoPort's actual results and the timing of events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements as a result of these risks and uncertainties, which include, without limitation, the risks inherent in preclinical and clinical development; the availability of resources to develop XenoPorta™s preclinical product candidates; and the uncertain therapeutic and commercial value of XenoPorta™s preclinical product candidates. These and other risk factors are discussed under the heading aRisk Factorsa in XenoPorta™s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2010, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 9, 2010. XenoPort expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in the company's expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statements are based.
XenoPort is a registered trademark of XenoPort, Inc.
Source code: XNPT2C
