Coronal view of the human brain of a patient with Parkinson's disease
Communication Imaging Laboratory in Sherbrooke | Getty Images
A class of very popular drugs for treating diabetes and obesity has shown early potential to help patients with Parkinson's disease as well.
An old diabetes treatment called lixisenatide helped slow the progression of motor disability after 12 months in patients with the early stage of the condition, according to results of a small, mid-stage trial published Wednesday. The medicine he made Sanofisimilar to GLP-1 Novo NordiskThe popular diabetes injection Ozempic and its counterpart Wegovy for weight loss.
Motor disability refers to symptoms such as tremors, stiffness, and slowness of movement, which can make it difficult for patients to walk, talk, and swallow. Researchers from France said larger and longer studies are needed to determine the effectiveness and safety of Sanofi's treatment in patients with the degenerative brain disease, including how long the benefits may last.
Still, the results, published late Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine, represent an encouraging step forward in decades-long efforts to treat Parkinson's disease. Up to half a million Americans have been diagnosed with the condition, which is characterized by damage to nerve cells in the brain.
The findings also add to the long list of potential health benefits of GLP-1, demand for which has skyrocketed over the past year to help patients shed excess weight and regulate blood sugar. But more research is needed to determine whether newer iterations of GLP-1s from Novo Nordisk and… Eli Lilly It may also help Parkinson's patients.
Both drugmakers are studying weight loss and diabetes treatments in patients with conditions such as sleep apnea and fatty liver disease, but neither is testing their drugs in the management of Parkinson's disease.
Sanofi withdrew lixisenatide from the market at the beginning of 2023. The French pharmaceutical company said stopping the treatment was a commercial decision unrelated to its safety and effectiveness.
Sanofi provided the drug to researchers and advised them on its properties, but was not involved in the new phase 2 trial, which was funded by the French Ministry of Health and Prevention and a British charity called Cure Parkinson's.
In a statement to CNBC, Sanofi said it was “pleased to see the positive results of this study.” The company added that it is open to “discussions with the study's researchers about providing support for the next stage of research.”
The trial followed 156 people with early Parkinson's disease for a year. All participants took their usual Parkinson's medication in the study. But one group was given an additional daily injection of Sanofi, while the other group was given a placebo.
Patients who received lixisenatide showed no development of motor symptoms, while those who took placebo showed worsening motor problems. The difference between the two groups was modest, but it remained two months after the trial stopped and the patients stopped treatment completely.
But use of Sanofi has been associated with an increased risk of gastrointestinal side effects, which are common to all types of GLP-1. Nearly half of the patients taking the drug in the trial experienced nausea, while 13% reported vomiting.
