Israel's NeuroDerm banks $16M to advance its Parkinson's pump

Israeli biotech NeuroDerm has secured a $16 million investment to support its work on a wearable treatment for Parkinson's disease, working through a mid-stage study on its lead candidate for the neurodegenerative ailment.

The latest round, led by existing investors, will support the company's work on ND0612H and ND0612L, two products that mete out low or high doses of the Parkinson's treatments levodopa and carbidopa. Using a belt-worn pump, NeuroDerm's devices continuously administer a liquid form of the combo drug, replacing the invasive surgical procedures often required for particularly severe patients, the company said.

ND0612L is now in the midst of a placebo-controlled Phase II study, funded by a $1 million grant from the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, and the high-dose model has successfully completed Phase I.

Now, with its new cash in hand, NeuroDerm can press forward with its clinical program, CEO Oded Lieberman said.

"This round constitutes a vote of trust in the company, its team and its technology, and in the great hope that we bring to Parkinson's disease patients," Lieberman said in a statement. "The funds we have raised will allow us to proceed with our development plan and bring our products to the market as quickly as possible to make a dramatic change in the lives of Parkinson's disease patients."

Beyond its two lead candidates, NeuroDerm's Parkinson's pipeline includes ND0680, a Phase I technology that delivers even higher doses of levodopa and carbidopa for severe patients, and the early-stage ND0701, which administers apomorphine for patients unable to handle the two-drug combination. The company is also working on ND0801, a Phase II treatment that combines nicotine and opipramol to treat cognitive disorders.

- read the statement