Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the most common movement disorder, affecting more than 5 million patients worldwide. Age is the most important risk factor for PD, and the aging world population is expected to push the number of the afflicted to over 10 million by 2030. In addition, its chronic and debilitating nature warrants high socio-economic impacts. In the US alone, the financial cost of the disease is estimated to exceed $6 billion annually.
PD is characterized by the progressive loss of dopaminergic neurons in the brain. The resulting dopamine depletion leads to its cardinal motor symptoms, such as rigidity (muscle stiffness), bradykinesia (slowing of movement), postural instability and resting tremor. These impairments are accompanied by non-motor disabilities, including dementia, depression, and sleep disturbance.
The current standard treatment options target the dopaminergic pathway, either by supplementing the molecule or stimulating dopamine receptors (binding partners of dopamine). While these strategies ameliorate symptoms in early stages, they become less effective over the course of the disease. In addition, dopamine therapies fail to tackle the underlying causes of the disease, and therefore, do not slow the progression of PD or extend the life expectancy of patients.
Serdaxin is a new class of CNS disorder therapeutics that has prevented neuronal deaths in PD models. In contrast to other PD drugs, Serdaxin directly targets the disease mechanism by slowing or halting the progression of the disease, fulfilling unmet needs in Parkinson’s disease treatment. Currently, Phase II clinical trials for the use of Serdaxin for the treatment of PD is under development as part of Rexahn’s goal to develop break-through drugs against diseases where a meaningful cure is overdue.
