Amneal announces u.s. fda filing acceptance of new drug application for ipx203 for the treatment of parkinson’s disease
Bridgewater, n.j.--(business wire)--amneal pharmaceuticals, inc. (nyse: amrx) today announced the u.s. food and drug administration (fda) has accepted for review the new drug application (nda) for ipx203 for the treatment of parkinson’s disease (pd). ipx203 is a novel, oral formulation of carbidopa/levodopa (cd/ld) extended-release capsules. “the fda filing acceptance of ipx203 marks another important milestone for amneal as we strive to improve the lives and care of people living with parkinson’s disease,” said gustavo pesquin, chief commercial officer, amneal specialty. “we look forward to engaging in conversations with the fda as we advance the application. we believe the data in our rise-pd study supports the important benefit ipx203 can offer to this community by providing longer duration of symptom control with the benefit of fewer doses.” cd/ld has been the leading treatment for pd since the 1970s. data from the pivotal phase 3 rise-pd clinical trial found that ipx203’s extended-release formulation offers significantly more “good on” time, as well as significantly less “off” time, compared to immediate-release cd/ld, even when dosed less frequently. “amneal aims to provide people living with parkinson’s disease effective treatments that allow them to live their lives with less concern about their mobility and symptoms, and more freedom to choose how to spend their time,” said pesquin. “we are pleased that ipx203 has the potential to address this need by extending periods when symptoms are better controlled, with less frequent dosing.” the fda assigned a prescription drug user fee act (pdufa) date of june 30, 2023 to complete its evaluation of the nda. about the rise-pd trial the multicenter, randomized, double-blind, double-dummy, active-controlled, parallel-group rise-pd trial evaluated the efficacy and safety of ipx203 cd/ld extended-release capsules compared with immediate-release cd/ld in the treatment of people living with pd who have motor fluctuations. the trial consisted of a 3-week, open-label immediate-release cd/ld dose adjustment period and a 4-week, open-label period for conversion to ipx203. this was followed by a 13-week double-blind treatment period in which patients were randomized 1:1 to receive either ipx203 (with matching immediate-release cd/ld placebo) or immediate-release cd/ld (with matching ipx203 placebo). the baseline for all endpoints was week 7 (visit 4), which occurred pre-randomization. the most common adverse reaction (incidence ≥ 3% and greater than immediate-release cd-ld) was nausea (4.3%). the primary endpoint of the trial assessed the change from baseline in “good on” time in hours per day at the end of the double-blind treatment period (week 20 or early termination). “good on” time is defined as the sum of “on” time without dyskinesia and “on” time with non-troublesome dyskinesia. secondary endpoints assessed the change from baseline in “off” time in hours per day, proportion of patients who were either “much improved” or “very much improved” in patients' global impression of change (pgi-c) scores, change from baseline in the movement disorder society - unified parkinson's disease rating scale (mds-updrs) part iii score, and the change from baseline in sum of mds-updrs parts ii and iii scores. the trial was conducted at 105 clinical sites in the u.s. and in european countries, including czechia, france, germany, italy, poland, spain and the united kingdom. the study randomized 506 patients who had received a pd diagnosis at age 40 or older. the study design was reviewed by the fda and conducted pursuant to a special protocol assessment. a nine-month safety extension study was completed earlier this year (2022). about ipx203 ipx203 is a novel, oral formulation of cd/ld extended-release capsules designed for the treatment of parkinson’s disease. ipx203 contains immediate-release granules and extended-release beads. the ir granules consist of cd and ld, with a disintegrant polymer to allow for rapid dissolution. the er beads consist of ld, coated with a sustained release polymer to allow for slow release of the drug, a mucoadhesive polymer to keep the granules adhered to the area of absorption longer, and an enteric coating to prevent the granules from disintegrating prematurely in the stomach. this formulation is distinct from rytary® (carbidopa/levodopa) extended-release capsules, amneal’s extended-release cd/ld treatment for pd approved by the u.s. fda in 2015. about parkinson’s disease parkinson’s disease (pd) has become the fastest growing neurological disorder worldwide, with approximately 1 million people diagnosed in the u.s.1,2 it is a progressive disorder of the central nervous system (cns) that affects dopamine-producing neurons in the brain that affect movement. pd is characterized by slowness of movement, stiffness, resting tremor and impaired balance.3 while pd is not considered a fatal disease, it is associated with significant morbidity and disability.4 the average age at diagnosis for people with pd is 60; as people live longer, the number of people living with pd is predicted to grow significantly over the coming decades.1,5 about amneal amneal pharmaceuticals, inc. (nyse: amrx), headquartered in bridgewater, nj, is a fully integrated essential medicines company. we make healthy possible through the development, manufacturing, and distribution of generic and specialty pharmaceuticals, primarily within the united states. the company has a diverse portfolio of over 250 products in its generics segment and is expanding across a broad range of complex products and therapeutic areas, including injectables and biosimilars. in its specialty segment, amneal has a growing portfolio of branded pharmaceutical products focused primarily on central nervous system and endocrine disorders, with a pipeline focused on unmet needs. through its avkare segment, the company is a distributor of pharmaceuticals and other products for the u.s. federal government, retail, and institutional markets. for more, please visit www.amneal.com. cautionary statement on forward-looking statements certain statements contained herein, regarding matters that are not historical facts, may be forward-looking statements (as defined in the u.s. private securities litigation reform act of 1995). such forward-looking statements include statements regarding management’s intentions, plans, beliefs, expectations or forecasts for the future, including among other things: discussions of future operations; expected or estimated operating results and financial performance, the company’s growth prospects and opportunities as well as its strategy for growth; product development and launches; the successful commercialization and market acceptance of new products, and expenditures. words such as “plans,” “expects,” “will,” “anticipates,” “estimates,” and similar words are intended to identify estimates and forward-looking statements. the reader is cautioned not to rely on these forward-looking statements. these forward-looking statements are based on current expectations of future events. if the underlying assumptions prove inaccurate or known or unknown risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results could vary materially from the expectations and projections of the company. such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: our ability to successfully develop, license, acquire and commercialize new products on a timely basis; the competition we face in the pharmaceutical industry, in general, specifically from brand and generic drug product companies, and the impact of that competition on our ability to set prices; our ability to obtain exclusive marketing rights for our products; our substantial amount of indebtedness and our ability to generate sufficient cash to service our indebtedness in the future, and the impact of interest rate fluctuations on such indebtedness; our ability to manage our growth through acquisitions and otherwise; our dependence on the sales of a limited number of products for a substantial portion of our total revenues; the continuing trend of consolidation of certain customer groups; our dependence on third-party suppliers and distributors for raw materials for our products and certain finished goods and any associated supply chain disruptions; existing and future legal proceedings, the outcome of which are uncertain and may divert management resources and require us to incur substantial defense or settlement payments and costs; legal, regulatory and legislative efforts by our brand competitors to deter competition from our generic alternatives; the impact of severe weather; the impact of the ongoing covid-19 pandemic, and the emergence of variant strains; risks related to federal regulation of arrangements between manufacturers of branded and generic products; our reliance on certain licenses to proprietary technologies from time to time; the significant amount of resources we expend on research and development; the risk of product liability and other claims against us by consumers and other third parties; risks related to changes in the regulatory environment, including u.s. federal and state laws related to healthcare fraud abuse and health information privacy and security and changes in such laws; changes to food and drug administration (“fda”) product approval requirements; the impact of healthcare reform and changes in coverage and reimbursement levels by governmental authorities and other third-party payers; our dependence on third-party agreements for a portion of our product offerings; the impact of global economic conditions, including any economic effects stemming from adverse geopolitical events, an economic downturn, inflation and rising interest rates; our ability to identify, make and integrate acquisitions or investments in complementary businesses and products on advantageous terms; our obligations under a tax receivable agreement may be significant; and the high concentration of ownership of our class a common stock and the fact that we are controlled by the amneal group. the forward-looking statements contained herein are also subject generally to other risks and uncertainties that are described from time to time in the company’s filings with the securities and exchange commission, including under item 1a, “risk factors” in the company’s most recent annual report on form 10-k and in its subsequent reports on forms 10-q and 8-k. investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. forward-looking statements included herein speak only as of the date hereof and we undertake no obligation to revise or update such statements to reflect the occurrence of events or circumstances after the date hereof. references:
