Efficacy, Safety, and Tolerability of Apomorphine Sublingual Film: William Ondo, MD

“The main take home message for Kynmobi is that it's very effective—it works very, very quickly. Although there's no comparison to subcutaneous injections, it seems to be in the same ballpark as far as rapidity to onset and perhaps [with] a longer duration of benefit.”

The International Parkinson and Movement Disorders (MDS) Society Virtual Congress 2021, September 17-22, featured presentations on data from both the pivotal (CTH-300) and long-term study (CTH-301) of apomorphine sublingual film (Kynmobi; Sunovion) in the on-demand treatment of Parkinson disease (PD) OFF episodes. 

William Ondo, MD, director, Movements Disorders Clinic, Houston Methodist Neurological Institute; and professor of neurology, Weill Cornell Medical College, spoke with NeurologyLive on the data, which further explored the safety, efficacy, and tolerability of the treatment. According to Ondo, the primary difficulty associated with apomorphine is the delivery system, as the treatment is poorly absorbed orally. 

The presentation on the post-hoc analysis evaluated the occurrence of nausea during the dose titration process, finding that nausea occurred in approximately 21% of patients treated with apomorphine sublingual film. Although, in 83% of instances, doses of apomorphine sublingual film were unchanged and rarely caused patients to discontinue treatment. Additionally, the preliminary interim analysis of data from the long-term safety and efficacy study concluded that 88% of patients were titrated to a dose of the treatment without the use of concomitant antiemetics.^1,2 

For more coverage of MDS 2021, click here.

REFERENCES

1. Hauser R, Factor S, Ondo W, Zhang I, Pappert E, Navia B. Apomorphine sublingual film for “OFF” episodes in Parkinson’s Disease: Impact of concomitant antiemetics on nausea and vomiting. Presented at: MDS Congress 2021; September 17-22; Virtual. Poster 394.
2. Ondo W, Hauser R, Bowling A, Isaacson S, Pappert E, Navia B. pomorphine Sublingual Film for “OFF” Episodes in Parkinson’s Disease: Characterization of Acute Nausea During Dose Titration. Presented at: MDS Congress 2021; September 17-22; Virtual. Poster 427.
3. Sunovion presents new Kynmobi (apomorphine sublingual film) study data at the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society (MDS) Congress 2021. News release. Sunovion. September 10, 2021. Accessed September 16, 2021. https://news.sunovion.com/press-releases/press-releases-details/2021/Sunovion-Presents-New-KYNMOBI-apomorphine-sublingual-film-Study-Data-at-the-International-Parkinson-and-Movement-Disorder-Society-MDS-Congress-2021/default.aspx