Sinopia Biosciences’ drug candidate SB-0110 has demonstrated the ability to enhance levodopa’s therapeutic effect while curbing involuntary movements in rodent and non-human primate models, with human clinical trials targeted for next year.
A new experimental drug could improve the effectiveness of the standard treatment for Parkinson’s disease while reducing one of its worst long-term side effects, according to a preclinical study.
Researchers led by Sinopia Biosciences, a biotechnology company that orginated from the University of California San Diego, found that their drug candidate, SB-0110, enhanced the benefits of levodopa, also known as L-dopa, in animal models while reducing involuntary movements known as dyskinesia.
Levodopa remains the most effective treatment for Parkinson’s disease, helping to restore movement and improve quality of life for millions of patients. However, its effectiveness often becomes less reliable over time, with many people experiencing periods when symptoms return between doses alongside dyskinesia, characterised by erratic, involuntary movements.
The findings suggest SB-0110 could address both challenges simultaneously.
Addressing an unmet need
“Virtually every Parkinson’s patient takes levodopa,” said UC San Diego alumnus Aarash Bordbar, Chief Executive Officer, Chief Sientific Officer and Co-founder of Sinopia Biosciences. “But patients face two major problems with the drug: the reappearance of Parkinson’s symptoms and dyskinesia. There is no drug that can can be added to L-dopa to address both simultaneously in a robust manner and that’s what our drug candidate is doing.”
Virtually every Parkinson’s patient takes levodopa
According to the World Health Organization, more than 8.5 million people worldwide were living with Parkinson’s disease in 2019, with global prevalence doubling over the past 25 years. After around nine years of levodopa treatment, about 70 percent of patients develop motor fluctuations, while approximately 90 percent experience dyskinesia.
From computer models to laboratory testing
Sinopia Biosciences was founded in 2014 by Bordbar and Professor Bernhard Palsson to develop new medicines using computational biology. Their approach combines large biological datasets with biochemical analysis to identify drug candidates capable of reducing unwanted side effects.
SB-0110 came from this process after computer modelling suggested it could preserve the beneficial gene activity associated with levodopa while counteracting the biological changes linked to dyskinesia.
The compound is based on an older heart medication previously used outside the United States, giving researchers greater confidence in its safety profile. It also targets PKA-II, a signalling pathway in the brain involved in movement and dopamine responses.
The research brought together expertise from UC San Diego alongside Parkinson’s disease specialists at Atuka and Motac Neuroscience.
Encouraging early results
In rodent and non-human primate models of Parkinson’s disease, SB-0110 significantly reduced dyskinesia while improving movement in animals that were receiving only limited benefit from levodopa. Researchers found the improvement was comparable to increasing the levodopa dose, but without the accompanying increase in involuntary movements.
“We’re really excited that there’s a high chance that this could work clinically,” Bordbar said.
Sinopia Biosciences is now completing the toxicology studies required before seeking regulatory approval to begin human clinical trials, which it hopes to start next year.
We’re really excited that there’s a high chance that this could work clinically
If those studies and subsequent clinical trials prove successful, Bordbar estimates the treatment could become available to patients within six to seven years, potentially offering a new way to improve symptom control while reducing the long-term complications associated with Parkinson’s disease treatment.
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