A new treatment has stopped the progression of Parkinson's disease in all four patients taking part in a clinical study, says its Australasian developer.
Biotechnology company, Living Cell Technologies Ltd, reported on its phase 1/11a study of NTCELL in an announcement to the Australian Stock Exchange on Wednesday.
After a year of treatment, all four NZ patients remain well, and at 58 weeks post-implant there are no safety concerns, the statement said.
"In all four patients NTCELL treatment has stopped the progression of Parkinson's disease as measured by globally accepted and validated neurological rating scales."
Next step is a phase IIb study to confirm the most effective dose of NTCELL, define any placebo component of the response and further identify the initial target Parkinson's disease patient sub-group.
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"Our goal is to obtain provisional consent and launch NTCELL as the first disease modifying treatment for Parkinson's disease in 2017," says chief executive Dr Ken Taylor.
NTCELL is an alginate coated capsule containing clusters of neonatal porcine choroid plexus cell, which is implanted into a damaged site within the brain.
It functions as a "biological factory producing nerve growth factors to promote new central nervous system growth and repair disease-induced nerve degeneration", the company said.
