Parkinson's UK funded drug improves movement symptoms in early trial

Funded through our drug development programme, in partnership with the Parkinson's Foundation, these results from the trial of SNT-4728 build on the promising early results shared in July.

The latest results from the trial show that people who were taking SNT-4728 had an improvement in their movement compared to those who were taking a placebo, or dummy pill. This change was statistically significant 12 weeks after participants had stopped taking the drug.

SNT-4728, developed by Australian drug development company Syntara, was trialled in people with a sleep condition called isolated REM sleep behaviour disorder (iRBD).

iRBD and Parkinson's

People with iRBD experience some of the same changes in the brain as people with Parkinson's. This includes higher levels of inflammation in some regions of the brain, and the build up of a troublesome protein called alpha-synuclein. Around 7 out of 10 people with iRBD go on to be diagnosed with Parkinson's within 15 years.

What did the researchers do?

41 participants across sites in Oxford, UK and Sydney, Australia, took part in the study. Of those participants, 30 were given SNT-4728 to take once a day, and the others took a placebo pill, for 12 weeks.

Everyone on the trial had a brain scan to look at inflammation before starting the drug, and then again at the end of the study. They also had their movement assessed, and filled in questionnaires about their sleep, thinking and memory, and quality of life.

What were the results?

12 weeks after the trial ended, people who had been taking the SNT-4728 drug showed a significant improvement in their movement scores. However, people who had taken the control drug had a worsening in their movement.

There was no change in the sleep, thinking and memory, or quality of life assessments in either group.

What does this mean?

The fact that movement symptoms were improved over a short time is exciting. Together with the earlier results looking at inflammation, it suggests that the drug is having an impact on processes in the brain that are involved in Parkinson's. Read about the first results from this trial in our news story.

The researchers will now keep studying the information gathered from the trial, including looking at the blood and spinal fluid samples to understand whether there are any additional biological changes. This could then lead to a larger trial, bringing the drug one step closer to becoming available.

Dr Lynsey Bilsland, Managing Director of our global drug development programme, said: "Right now, no drug can stop or slow the progression of Parkinson's. These latest results from the trial of SNT-4728 are encouraging, showing an improvement in movement symptoms in a population who have yet to be diagnosed with Parkinson's in such a short time.

"Syntara have shown that they are able to modify a key process linked to Parkinson's progression through short-term treatment many years before Parkinson's is diagnosed. In this trial, participants gave their time in the hope of delivering something that will improve life with Parkinson's for generations to come. This data shows real promise for people living with Parkinson's and iRBD today, and we look forward to seeing results from larger trials."