The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a new drug in patch form to treat Parkinson's disease symptoms, according to media reports Monday.

The new drug known as Neupro, made by Germany-based Schwarz Pharma AG, is the first patch for Parkinson's. It is also known as the Rotigotine Transfermal System and will treat symptoms of early-stage idiopathic Parkinson's disease.

The once-daily Neupro patch contains rotigotine, a drug not previously approved in the U.S.

Rotigotine is designed to help treat trembling and other Parkinson's symptoms by activating dopamine receptors in the brain. People with Parkinson's suffer a loss of brain cells that produce dopamine, a chemical that enables communication between cells that control muscle movement.

"This is an important step forward for the patients suffering from Parkinson's disease. Following approval and launch within Europe, Neupro will now be available for patients in the U.S.A," noted Iris Loew-Friedrich, MD, PhD, Chief Science Officer of Scharz Pharma AG. "We intend to submit a supplemental New Drug Application for the treatment of advanced Parkinson's disease to the FDA by the end of 2007."

There will be a 2mg, 4mg, and 6mg patch for each type of patient depending on the severity of the symptoms and each patch will last 24 hours.

There are 4 million people worldwide suffering from Parkinson's with 1 million alone in the U.S. Most suffer from a lack of dopamine, something this patch could fix.

Source:Xinhua/Agencies