New Weekly Injection Offers Relief for Parkinson’s Patients

A team of researchers from the University of South Australia (UniSA) has developed a new, long-acting injectable that could reduce the treatment burden for people with Parkinson’s disease. The formulation, published in Drug Delivery and Translation Research, delivers a steady dose of the drugs levodopa and carbidopa over one week, eliminating the need for multiple daily tablet doses.

Senior author Sanjay Garg, PhD, from UniSA’s Centre for Pharmaceutical Innovation, stated, \"Our goal was to simplify treatment, improve patient compliance, and maintain consistent medication levels. This weekly injection could revolutionize Parkinson’s care.\"

Parkinson’s disease has no cure, and treatment focuses on symptom control using dopaminergic drugs like levodopa and carbidopa. Levodopa is effective but requires frequent doses, leading to inconsistent adherence and challenges for older patients. The new injectable releases both drugs gradually over seven days, ensuring consistent levels and reducing risks of fluctuating concentrations.

The injectable uses FDA-approved polymers to release over 90% of levodopa and 81% of carbidopa over seven days. It degrades without toxicity and can be easily administered via injection, eliminating the need for surgery.

This technology has potential applications beyond Parkinson’s, including cancer, diabetes, and pain management. Clinical trials are needed to validate its performance in patients and assess long-term safety and tolerability.

According to the source: Inside Precision Medicine.