Amarin's Miraxion improves Parkinson's disease symptoms, studies say

By Angela McDaniels

Seattle, Jan 10 - Amarin Corp. plc said preliminary results from preclinical studies show that its investigational drug Miraxion (ultra-pure ethyl-EPA) improved cell viability and slowed the death of neurons in an in vitro model of Parkinson's disease.

Miraxion did this by interacting with brain-derived neurotrophic factor, which is linked to neurodegenerative and mood disorders.

Amarin said that in a second preclinical study, treatment with Miraxion enhanced learning performance, improved motor function and reduced bradykinesia (slow movement) in animal models.

"These promising preclinical results are of great importance in our understanding of how Miraxion can modulate the neuronal cell's activities to increase its viability and slow the cell death processes associated with neurodegenerative disorders, including Parkinson's disease and Huntington's disease," chief executive officer Rick Stewart said in a company news release.

"We are very encouraged by these data and look forward to progressing Miraxion into clinical studies in patients with Parkinson's disease later this year," Stewart added.

The preclinical studies were conducted by Cai Song of the University of Prince Edward Island in Canada. The company said it plans to publish fully detailed data in a peer reviewed journal later this year.

Parkinson's disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder affecting 1 million patients in the United States, where the market for Parkinson's disease drug treatments in 2004 was roughly $600 million, according to the release.

Amarin is a neuroscience company based in London that researches, develops and commercializes drugs for the treatment of central nervous system disorders.

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