The European Commission has approved Avanir Pharmaceuticals' Nuedexta (dextromethorphan hydrobromide/quinidine sulfate) in the EU for the treatment of pseudobulbar affect (PBA), irrespective of underlying neurologic disease or injury.
"The approval of Nuedexta by the European Commission is a major breakthrough for people with PBA who, until now, have had no EMA approved medications indicated to treat this debilitating disorder," said Joao Siffert, MD, chief scientific officer at Avanir. "Nuedexta addresses a genuine unmet patient need and demonstrates Avanir's commitment to bringing innovative treatments to people in Europe and throughout the world."
PBA is a neurologic condition characterized by outbursts of uncontrollable crying or laughing that are often contrary or exaggerated to the patient's inner mood state. As a result, many of those afflicted with PBA show significant impairment on standard measures of health status, and disruption in occupational and social function, often leading to social isolation. PBA occurs secondary to a variety of neurologic conditions such as traumatic brain injury, multiple sclerosis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's disease), Parkinson's disease, stroke and Alzheimer's disease. When these disorders damage areas of the brain that regulate normal emotional expression, they can lead to uncontrollable, disruptive episodes of crying or laughing.
Nuedexta is an innovative combination of two well-characterized components; dextromethorphan hydrobromide, the ingredient active in the central nervous system, and quinidine sulfate, a metabolic inhibitor enabling therapeutic dextromethorphan concentrations. Nuedexta acts on sigma-1 and NMDA receptors in the brain, although the mechanism by which Nuedexta exerts therapeutic effects in patients with PBA is unknown.
Nuedexta is approved in the US for the treatment of PBA with a 20/10 mg dose strength. Nuedexta is now approved in all 27 member states of the European Union, plus Iceland and Norway, for the treatment of PBA with a 20/10 mg and 30/10 mg dose strength.
Avanir Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company focused on bringing innovative medicines to patients with central nervous system disorders of high unmet medical need.