The launch ceremony of Azilect, an innovative drug developed by Lundbeck in collaboration with Teva to treat Parkinson's disease (PD), was held in Shanghai recently.

Azilect is a new and different MAO-B inhibitor that is launched in China, is used as monotherapy in primary PD patients and as combined treatment in PD patients with end-of-dose motor fluctuations. With some research data confirmed, monotherapy can significantly improve exercise and non-motor symptoms of PD patients; while comes to combined treatment, it can optimize the effect of levodopa treatment, further control the symptoms effectively, reduce movement fluctuations. It can improve the life quality of patients with high security.

After seven years of Lundbeck's unswerving efforts, Azilect was formally approved by China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) in June 2017. Azilect has now been marketed in more than 50 countries and regions around the world with millions of PD patients benefiting from it, and in many countries has achieved status as the most prescribed newer medication for PD patients underlining its importance in the current treatment regimen globally.

The launch of Azilect in China will provide a new treatment option for Chinese physicians and PD patients, further satisfying the patients’ treatment needs as well as improving their quality of life.

"As a world leader in psychiatry and neurology, Lundbeck is devoted to developing innovative medicines that can help the millions of parkinson's patients and their caregivers around the world to lead better lives, and we are delighted to now offer Azilect to Chinese physicians and patients. Parkinson's is a terrible disease with significant un-met need and need for better treatments and the burden of Parkinson's will increase significantly in China due to the ongoing demographic changes. We are in Lundbeck committed to work for more progress for the many parkinson's patients in China by bringing our new medicines to China and by helping to support disease education and awareness activities, and we now hope for fast market access for Azilect so that we can help make a difference for the many Chinese parkinson's patients that deserve better treatment and care. Azilect was granted priority revirew by CFDA underlining its innovation status and we are also pleased with being granted reimbursement status in Guizhou, and hope other provinces will follow soon." Søren Kjeld Kristensen, president and general manager of Lundbeck China, said.

Parkinson's disease is the second most common senile, chronic, debilitating, progressive neurodegenerative disorder after Alzheimer's disease. Presently, it is also the third killer that seriously threatens the health of elderly people following cancer and cardio-cerebrovascular diseases.

It usually develops in people at their late 50s and early 60s. Due to lack of effective diagnosing methods in the early stage, it begins years before it can be diagnosed and develops progressively with severe consequences. Men seem to have an earlier onset and a 1.5-2 times greater risk for Parkinson's disease than women.

Chen Shengdi, director of Neurology Department of Ruijin Hospital, remarked, "living with Parkinson's disease is challenging. Patients with Parkinson's disease experience difficulties with movement, including shaking, stiffness, slow movements and balance. The disease affects gait, speech and swallowing. Also, severe non-motor symptoms such as intestinal dysfunctions, depression, sleep disorder and sexual and cognitive impairment, as well as addiction, are problems often associated with Parkinson's disease and which cause a serious deterioration in patients' quality of life. In the late stage of the disease, patients deteriorate severely and are often confined to a chair or a bed."

In China, it is assumed that more than 2.5 million people are living with Parkinson's disease today. With the worsening trend of aging, the figure will surge to about 5 million in 2030 accounting for more than half of the world's patients at that time.