The United States Food and Drug Administration has approved the first drug to cure hallucinations and delusions that are associated with psychosis experienced by a number of people who have Parkinson's disease. The FDA said that hallucinations and delusions are possible in as many as half of patients with Parkinson's disease at some time during the time of their illness.
"Hallucinations and delusions can be profoundly disturbing and disabling," said Mitchell Mathis, M.D., in an FDA news release. Mathis is the director of the Division of Psychiatry Products in the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.
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Parkinson's Drug Works Without Worsening Movement Woes
According to the Food and Drug Administration , the drug, known as Nuplazid, "was shown to be superior to placebo in decreasing the frequency and/or severity of hallucinations and delusions without worsening the primary motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease." This was seen in a six-week trial involving 199 participants.
The Food and Drug Administration followed the advice of its advisory panel, who voted 12-2 in favor of approving the Parkinson's disease drug back in March, the Wall Street Journal reported. Acadia Pharmaceuticals Inc., the drug's manufacturer, said it will launch Nuplazid in June.
Nuplazid is expected to be priced at $13,500 per Parkinson's disease patient annually, according to Leerink analyst Paul Matteis, as per Reuters. It is seen to reach more than $1 billion in sales in 2021.
Parkinson's Disease Affect Around A Million Americans
The Food and Drug Administration said that data from the Nations Institutes of Health show that 50,000 Americans are diagnosed with Parkinson's disease each year. Around a million Americans are said to be suffering from Parkinson's disease.
Parkinson's disease occurs in people aged above 60, when dopamine-producing brain cells are damaged or die, the Food and Drug Administration added. Dopamine aids in the transmission of signals between the parts of the brain that "produce smooth, purposeful movement - like eating, writing and shaving."
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