The Therapeutic Pipeline for Parkinson Disease: Stewart Factor, DO

“There was this pendulum moving away from dopaminergic drugs and levodopa, and now that pendulum is swinging back. With levodopa being the gold standard, new formulations of levodopa are being developed.”

Many conversations about therapeutic development in Parkinson disease are anchored by the gold standard therapy, levodopa, whether in comparison to novel approaches or as a starting point in the discussion. And even though the pipeline has filled with a number of therapies with differing mechanisms of action over the last several years, there has been a recent influx of new formulations of the gold standard.

In this interview with NeurologyLive, Stewart Factor, DO, professor of neurology, and director, Jean and Paul Amos Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders Program, Emory University School of Medicine, discussed how the pipeline has evolved over the last several years. This evolution, he noted, includes the introduction of gene therapies, though they are still in the early phases of development.

Additionally, Factor shared his perspective on the ground that has been gained in the therapeutic research and development for Parkinson, as well as his thoughts on the current state of research into neuroprotective agents, many of which hold great promise if they pan out.