Non-Oral Drug Delivery Strategies: From Early Diagnosis to Advanced Treatments

Abstract

This educational symposium, sponsored by Britannia Pharmaceuticals Limited, was held during the 1st Congress of the European Academy of Neurology (EAN), which took place from 20th-23rd June 2015 in Berlin, Germany. The symposium reviewed the role of non-oral drug delivery strategies in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and how they can overcome problems that occur with the gastrointestinal (GI) route of administration in many patients. GI dysfunction is recognised as a common problem in PD and may in fact be a preclinical marker of the disease. It can affect the absorption of oral medication resulting in OFF periods and unreliable control of motor symptoms, which in turn can have a negative impact on quality of life (QoL). Delayed time-to-ON (TTO) after an oral levodopa dose and dose failures are known to be significant contributors to total OFF time. Results of the recently completed AM-IMPAKT trial in patients with morning akinesia due to a delay in the onset of oral levodopa effect demonstrate that apomorphine intermittent injection (penject) is able to provide rapid and effective resolution of such complications, restoring patients to the ON state quickly and allowing them to get on with their daily activities.

Keywords

• EAN 2015
• European Academy of Neurology