Many people with Parkinson’s on a levodopa regimen face "off" periods, when the effects of the medication wear off before they are ready to take their next dose. For this reason, The Michael J. Fox Foundation (MJFF) continues to focus much of its resources on finding improved mechanisms of delivering the drug into the body.
Enter Civitas Therapeutics, who is working to develop an inhaled formulation of levodopa. Called CVT-301, the therapy is designed to function as a sort of “rescue drug” to be taken in conjunction with the traditional pill form of levodopa/carbidopa (sinemet). The idea is that patients taking CVT-301 could self-medicate by taking a puff from an inhaler should they feel an "off" period coming on.
Development of CVT-301 is moving forward following positive results from a Phase 2 clinical trial released in April. Today, the Chelsea, Massachusetts-based biotech announced follow-on funding from MJFF to further development of the drug.
In this podcast, MJFF Contributing Editor Dave Iverson speaks with the CEO of Civitas, Glenn Batchelder, and MJFF staffer Maurizio Facheris, MD, MSc to learn more about how the drug works, as well as next steps on its journey toward pharmacy shelves.