NuPathe ready with new drug application for migraine treatment

NuPathe Inc., the Conshohocken specialty pharmaceutical company that is getting ready to file a new drug application for its experimental migraine headache treatment, has expanded its partnership formed in 2007 to take on Parkinson’s disease.

Late Monday, NuPathe entered into a license agreement for drug-delivery technology with SurModics Inc., a publicly traded Minnesota life sciences company.

The companies began a collaboration in 2007 aimed a developing a biodegradable sustained-release formulation of an approved dopamine agonist.

The partnership has yielded NuPathe's NP201, which it described as “the first long-acting treatment available in broadly acceptable dose form that maintains the potential to provide sustained relief from Parkinson's disease without motor response complications.”

The experimental product combines NuPathe's long-acting delivery technology and SurModics' proprietary biodegradable polymer matrix implant technology.

Under the licensing agreement, NuPathe will lead and fund development and commercialization. SurModics will provide technical and manufacturing expertise and will be eligible to receive licensing fees and milestone payments related to development of products for the treatment of Parkinson's disease and other clinical indications. SurModics will also receive royalties on product sales.

Other financial details were not disclosed.

Parkinson's disease, a brain disorder, occurs when certain nerve cells in the substantia nigra portion of the brain die or become impaired. Normally, these cells produce a vital chemical known as dopamine. Dopamine allows smooth, coordinated function of the body's muscles and movement.

About 1.4 million people suffer from Parkinson's disease in the United States, Europe, and Japan. By 2050, this number is expected to double.