Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, a leading global pharmaceutical company, announced enrollment of the first patient in The Pride-HD study, a phase II, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled global study designed to evaluate the impact of pridopidine, an investigational medication, on motor impairment in patients with Huntington’s disease (HD).

“Huntington’s disease represents a significant unmet medical need as there are currently no treatments that improve the motor movements that are crucial for gait, balance and coordination –things that greatly impact a patient,” said Professor G Bernhard Landwehrmeyer, lead study investigator and professor of neurology, Ulm University Hospital, Germany. “Based on previous observations using the compound, we believe pridopidine holds promise for symptomatic relief with an acceptable safety profile.”

“Existing treatments aren’t appropriate for some patients due to side effects and the predominant effect on involuntary movements,” said Karl Kieburtz, study investigator and director of the Clinical & Translational Science Institute, University of Rochester Medical Center. “Based on the preliminary clinical evidence to date, we believe pridopidine has the potential to make a real difference in the lives of HD patients and families.”

The start of patient enrollment in The Pride-HD Study represents the latest milestone in Teva’s commitment to developing medicines to improve the quality of life for patients suffering from devastating CNS diseases, such as Huntington’s disease.

“People with HD are in urgent need of new treatments and we are committed to investigating the potential benefit of pridopidine as quickly as possible," said Michael Hayden, a leading expert in the study of Huntington’s disease and president of global R&D and chief scientific officer at Teva.

“Pridopidine has shown promising results in previous advanced-stage clinical trials and merits additional study, as it has the potential to have a significant effect on Total Motor Score (TMS) – the endpoint most commonly used in the assessment of treatment efficacy in HD,” said Dr. Ralf Reilmann, study investigator and founding director and chief executive officer, George-Huntington-Institute, Münster, Germany.

The Pride-HD Study, a phase II, dose-finding, randomized, parallel-group, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, that aims to enroll approximately 400 patients at 30 sites across the globe and evaluate the safety and efficacy of pridopidine 45 mg, 67.5 mg, 90 mg, and 112.5 mg twice daily (bid) versus placebo for symptomatic treatment in patients with HD.

The primary objective will be to assess the efficacy of pridopidine on motor impairment after 26 weeks of treatment using the Unified Huntington’s Disease Rating Scale (UHDRS) Total Motor Score (TMS). The study will also examine the effect of treatment with pridopidine on the Physical Performance Test (PPT), as well as the safety and tolerability across the range of pridopidine doses in patients with HD during the 26 weeks of treatment.

Pridopidine is an investigational, oral, small molecule being developed for the symptomatic treatment of Huntington’s disease (HD). Teva intends to design and complete new clinical studies of pridopidine to assess its potential for symptomatic relief of HD. Earlier clinical studies of pridopidine conducted in the US, EU and Canada in patients with HD indicate a significant treatment effect on an important secondary endpoint, Total Motor Score (TMS).

In previous studies, where doses up to 45 mg bid were tested, pridopidine was well tolerated with an adverse event profile similar to placebo, and treatment with pridopidine was not associated with worsening of disease signs and symptoms.