Human Trial of Amgen Parkinson’s Drug Begins

Amgen Inc. has begun the first human clinical trial of a new drug to treat Parkinson’s disease, a devastating illness that affects about 1 million Americans.

The disease, characterized by rigidity, tremors and difficulty initiating movement, results when neurons in the brain that contain dopamine become inactive.

Officials with the Thousand Oaks-based biotechnology company said their new drug reversed Parkinson’s symptoms in previous tests. The drug protects dopamine neurons against the disease and restores activity to already damaged neurons, company officials said.

Amgen officials said their trial for the drug, called Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor, or GDNF, is designed primarily to evaluate safety and tolerability in patients with moderate to severe Parkinson’s disease.

Because GDNF does not readily cross the blood-brain barrier, it will be administered directly into the brain, Amgen said. The trial, which will last 12 to 15 months, is being conducted at several Parkinson’s disease treatment centers in North America.

After the onset of symptoms, Parkinson’s patients typically survive 10 to 15 years. Conventional drugs that help symptoms early in the disease are less effective and have toxic side effects as the disease progresses.