Non-Invasive and Passive Transdermal Drug Delivery Patch for Parkinson's Disease

OVERVIEW

Researchers at Georgetown University have developed a skin patch-type non-invasive, transdermal delivery device for Parkinson’s Disease (PD) that is able to passively deliver L-DOPA, the “gold standard” oral therapeutic for dopamine replacement in PD, directly and through the skin, in a safe, easy, painless, effective method to maintain a relatively constant drug level in the blood.

BACKGROUND

Parkinson's Disease (PD) is a chronic and progressive neurodegenerative disorder that is the most common neurological disease. It affects the ability of basal ganglia neurons to produce normal levels of dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with the regulation of movement. Currently, Levodopa-based oral medications are the current gold standard for treating symptoms of PD. Levodopa-based oral medications must be administrated in high dosing to overcome fluctuations in gastrointestinal absorption and early drug metabolism from hepatic first-pass effects, which can cause side effects such as constipation, headache, dizziness, nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting. Transdermal drug delivery device of the ‘gold standard’ L-DOPA, in combination with carbidopa decarboxylase inhibitor, is the ideal and patient-tolerated method to treat Parkinson’s disease.

Benefit

• Safe, easy, and effective transdermal delivery of a wider range of water-soluble and macromolecular drugs, enabling treatment for various other curable ailments in addition to Parkinson's disease drugs.
• A self-administered therapeutic device that is as simple as applying a Band-Aid.
• Delivery of drugs directly into the circulatory system, bypassing the gastrointestinal tract and liver, permits ease of use and improved quality of life.
• Lipophilic and hydrophilic therapeutic agents of macromolecular size can be delivered transdermally to reach the circulatory system.
• The technology relies on modifying the stratum corneum and not the drug itself by creating temporary micron-sized conduits, or micropores, which start at the skin surface and traverse through the stratum corneum and into the uppermost portion of the viable epidermis, thereby bypassing the problematic material properties associated with the stratum corneum.

Market Application

· Administration of L-DOPA delivery for Parkinson’s Disease (PD), the “gold standard” oral therapeutic for dopamine replacement in PD.

· Administration of other medications having similar profile characteristics (e.g., half-life, bioavailability, performance, etc.) to L-DOPA

· Allows safe, easy, painless, and effective delivery of medications, not requiring complex drug modifications or invasive devices, for a diverse population ranging from pediatric to geriatric.

Publications

· PCT Patent Application