Bial to sell new Parkinson’s drug in Portugal and Spain
With its own Parkinson's drug already on the market and another in development, the company will now commercialise a symptom-relieving therapy following an agreement with a US pharmaceutical.
Following the exclusive licensing agreement with the US company Sumitomo Pharma America for the commercialisation of the Parkinson’s drug Kynmobi in the European Union and the United Kingdom, Bial announced on Wednesday the launch in Portugal and Spain of this film that patients already on medication place under their tongue whenever their main medication loses effect.
The Portuguese pharmaceutical company, which has its own research drug for this disease — Ongentys already reaches more than 100,000 patients in various countries, from the USA to Japan and Australia — emphasises that this launch “reinforces its commitment to the Parkinson’s community”, estimating that this disease may affect around 20,000 people in Portugal and 160,000 in Spain.
At the same time, as ECO reported in January, the Trofa-based company is developing a new treatment for Parkinson’s disease (BIA 28), which recently reached a “key milestone” with the first patient completing the phase 2 clinical trial (activate). It is the most advanced compound in the pipeline of the northern pharmaceutical company, which employs 800 people and generated revenues of almost 340 million euros in 2023.
“Now, with the launch of Kynmobi, we are taking another important step in our development and expansion strategy in Europe, where we aim to be the benchmark company in the field of Parkinson’s disease. We are delighted to be able to make this treatment option available and potentially contribute to helping patients deal with symptoms as difficult and disabling as off episodes can be in their daily lives”, points out António Portela.
Prior to the launch in Portugal and Spain, Bial had already started marketing this sublingual film in Germany in May 2024, and expects it to arrive in Italy later this year. Between its own medicines — it launched Zebinix (epilepsy) in 2009 and Ongentys (Parkinson’s) in 2016 — and licensing agreements, on which the company’s internationalisation strategy is based, Bial products are present in more than 50 countries.
Founded in 1924, Bial currently has production and research and development (R&D) units in Portugal and subsidiaries in Spain, Germany, the UK, Italy, Switzerland and the USA.
What are off episodes in Parkinson’s?
Around 10 million people around the world live with Parkinson’s disease. It is the second most common neurodegenerative disease worldwide and the fastest growing neurological disease, with an estimated doubling in prevalence by the year 2050.
What are off episodes, for which patients can use Kynmobi as a complement to their usual antiparkinsonian medication? Bial explains that they occur when the medication becomes insufficient throughout the day, leading to the reappearance of symptoms, which can be motor (such as stiffness, tremor and difficulty walking) or others that affect the patient’s daily activity and autonomy, and this type of on-demand therapy aims to relieve these symptoms.
“Despite the continuous advances in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease, it is still not possible to guarantee that patients with motor fluctuations do not have moments of blockage (off). Therefore, the availability of an easy-to-administer drug that allows patients to improve quickly (on) is of fundamental importance. We are therefore looking forward to the arrival of this new drug, which will offer patients more autonomy and independence in managing their disease”, comments Joaquim Ferreira, Professor of Neurology and Clinical Pharmacology at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Lisbon.
