SmithKline Beecham's landmark Parkinson's disease study provides new hope for patients

Early treatment with ReQuip® (ropinirole hydrochloride), SmithKline Beecham's new drug for Parkinson's disease (PD), significantly reduces the risk of levodopa (L-dopa)-induced dyskinesia according to the multinational landmark 5-year study published today in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). The results of the study clearly position ReQuip® as a first-line treatment option.

To date, the mainstay treatment for PD has been L-dopa, which can induce dyskinesia - debilitating, involuntary, jerking movements - affecting up to 50% of patients within 5 years of starting L-dopa therapy.

When given alone or with low doses of L-dopa, ReQuip® reduces the risk of dyskinesia three-fold compared with patients treated with L-dopa alone from the beginning of treatment. Even more striking is the effect in those patients who can be treated with ReQuip® alone. ReQuip® monotherapy over 5 years reduces the incidence of dyskinesia by as much as seven times while effectively controlling the symptoms of early PD.

"This study shows conclusively that ropinirole is a first-line therapeutic option for individuals with early Parkinson's disease, and it should affect the way that doctors manage the condition in the future", commented the lead author of the NEJM study, Professor Olivier Rascol of the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire, Toulouse, France.

Parkinson's disease is a progressive, degenerative disorder of the central nervous system affecting 4 million people worldwide. However, its cause is unknown and there is currently no cure.

"This study with ReQuip® demonstrates SmithKline Beecham's ongoing commitment to CNS medicine, doctors, PD patients and their carers," said Dr Sandy Macrae, Clinical Director at SmithKline Beecham.

SmithKline Beecham - one of the world's leading healthcare companies - discovers, develops, manufactures and markets pharmaceuticals, vaccines, over-the-counter medicines and health-related consumer products. For company information, visit SmithKline Beecham on the World Wide Web at http://www.sb.com.