L-dopa(Levodopa), a widely-used drug for Parkinson’s disease, is known to be effective for improving symptoms of the disease. However, in order to maintain such effect, plasma concentration of L-dopa(Levodopa) must also be continuously controlled.
 

Morning akinesia occurs after a Parkinson’s disease patient wakes up in the morning and before the efficacy of the first dose of L-dopa(Levodopa) appears. Up to 60% of Parkinson’s disease patients who have taken L-dopa(Levodopa) for several years are known to experience morning akinesia. This condition has debilitating influence on everyday activities such as waking up in the morning, putting clothes on, washing one’s body and preparing breakfast, thereby seriously affecting the patients’ quality of life. However, there is no appropriate treatment for this condition.
 

CP-012 is a novel formulation of levodopa and carbidopa to be taken at bedtime in addition to normal medication and prevent the onset of nocturnal symptoms and early morning akinesia.
 

CP-012 had been under joint development by Bukwang Pharmaceutical’s subsidiary Contera Pharma, a Danish formulation specialist company, Solural Pharma and Ernst Moritz Arndt University Greifswald in Germany, and Erweka. The project was selected to receive Eurostar grant, which is awarded to new drug projects in Europe, in June 2015.
 

Contera Pharma has recently acquired the global patent and project rights to CP-012 from Solural Pharma, past partner on the program, thereby consolidating full ownership of the project.
 

Starting with securing full ownership of the project, Contera Pharma signs agreement with BDD Pharma for development of a novel tablet formulation applied by ‘BDD’s OralogiK™ technology which is a tablet-in-tablet drug delivery system providing timed release, targeted release and the opportunity for complex bi- and tri-phasic release of one or multiple drugs.