The coronal view of the human brain of a patient suffering from Parkinson's disease.
Sherbrooke Connectivity Imaging Laboratory | fake images
A popular class of diabetes and obesity drugs is showing early potential to also help patients with Parkinson's disease.
An old diabetes treatment called lixisenatide helped slow the progression of motor disability after 12 months in patients in an early stage of the condition, according to results from a small mid-stage trial published Wednesday. The drug, made by sanafiIt is similar to GLP-1 NordiskThe successful diabetes injection Ozempic and its weight loss counterpart Wegovy.
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 in France said larger, longer studies are needed to fully determine the effectiveness and safety of Sanofi's treatment in patients with degenerative brain disease, including how long the benefits may last.
Still, the results, published Wednesday evening in The New England Journal of Medicine, mark an encouraging step forward in the decades-long effort to address Parkinson's disease. Up to half a million Americans have been diagnosed with this condition, which is characterized by damage to nerve cells in the brain.
The results also add to the long list of potential health benefits of GLP-1, which has seen demand skyrocket over the past year to help patients lose weight and regulate their blood sugar. But more research is needed to determine whether the new iterations of GLP-1 from Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly It can also help Parkinson's patients.
Both drugmakers are studying their respective treatments for diabetes and weight loss in patients with conditions such as sleep apnea and fatty liver disease, but neither is examining their drugs to manage Parkinson's disease.
Sanofi withdrew lixisenatide from the market in early 2023. The French drugmaker has said that stopping the treatment was a commercial decision that was unrelated to its safety and effectiveness.
Sanofi provided the drug to the researchers and advised them on the drug's characteristics, but was otherwise not involved in the new phase two trial. It was funded by the French Ministry of Health and Prevention, a UK charity called Cure Parkinson's, and an independent biomedical research organization called the Van Andel Institute.
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 “a discussion with the study's researchers about providing support for their next phase 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's drug, while the other was given a placebo.
Patients receiving lixisenatide showed essentially no progression of motor symptoms, while those receiving placebo showed worsening of motor problems. The difference between the two groups was modest, but it remained two months after the trial was stopped and patients stopped treatment completely.
But use of Sanofi's drug was associated with an increased risk of gastrointestinal side effects, which are common to all GLP-1s. Nearly half of the patients taking the drug in the trial experienced nausea, while 13% reported vomiting.
