The effectiveness of NEUPRO in the treatment of the signs and symptoms of idiopathic Parkinson's disease was established in five parallel-group, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials conducted in the U.S. and abroad. Three of these five trials enrolled patients with early-stage Parkinson's disease (not receiving levodopa), and two enrolled patients with advanced-stage Parkinson's disease who were receiving levodopa. Depending on trial design, patients underwent a weekly titration of NEUPRO in 2 mg/24 hours increments to either the randomized dose or optimal dose. Back titrations by 2 mg/24 hours decrement of NEUPRO were permitted for intolerable adverse events. Patch application sites were changed on a daily basis.

Change from baseline in the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS), Parts II + III, served as the primary outcome assessment measure in the early-stage studies. The UPDRS is a four-part multi-item rating scale intended to evaluate mentation (Part I), Activities of Daily Living (ADL) (Part II), motor performance (Part III), and complications of therapy (Part IV). Part II of the UPDRS contains 13 questions relating to ADL, which are scored from 0 (normal) to 4 (maximal severity) for a maximum (worst) score of 52. Part III of the UPDRS contains 27 questions (for 14 items) and is scored as described for Part II. Part III is designed to assess the severity of the cardinal motor findings in patients with Parkinson's disease (e.g., tremor, rigidity, bradykinesia, postural instability, etc.), scored for different body regions, and has a maximum (worst) score of 108.

Change from baseline in time spent "off" (hours) based on daily diaries was the primary outcome assessment in the two trials of advanced-stage Parkinson's disease (with levodopa).

Studies in Patients with Early-Stage Parkinson's Disease

Patients (N=649) in the three trials of early-stage Parkinson's disease had limited or no prior exposure to levodopa (off levodopa for at least 28 days prior to baseline or levodopa use for no more than 6 months). Patients were excluded from the studies if they had a history of pallidotomy, thalamotomy, deep brain stimulation, or fetal tissue transplant. Patients receiving selegiline, anticholinergic agents, or amantadine must have been on a stable dose and able to maintain that dose for the duration of the study.

PD-1

This trial was a multicenter, multinational, dose-response study in which 316 early-stage Parkinson's disease patients were titrated over 4 weeks to their randomized treatment with either placebo or one of four fixed doses of NEUPRO (2 mg/24 hours, 4 mg/24 hours, 6 mg/24 hours, or 8 mg/24 hours). The patches were applied to the upper abdomen and the sites of application were rotated on a daily basis.

Patients underwent a weekly titration (increasing the number of 2 mg/24 hours patches or placebo patches at weekly intervals) over 4 weeks such that the target doses of NEUPRO were achieved for all groups by the end of 3 weeks and were administered over the fourth week of the titration phase. Patients then continued on treatment for a 7-week maintenance phase followed by a down titration during the last week. Two back titrations by a single patch (i.e., 2 mg/24 hours decrement of NEUPRO or placebo) at a time were permitted for intolerable adverse events. The mean age of patients was approximately 60 years (range 33-83 years; approximately 36% were 65 years or older) and the study enrolled more men (62%) than women (39%). Most patients (85%) were Caucasian and most randomized patients (≥88%) completed the full treatment period.

Mean baseline combined UPDRS (Parts II + III) scores were similar among all treatment groups, between 27.1 and 28.5 for all groups. The mean change from baseline and difference from placebo for each treatment group is shown in Table 5. Statistically significant mean changes reflecting dose-related improvement were observed at the three highest doses, and the 6 mg/24 hours and 8 mg/24 hours doses had a similar effect.

PD-2

This trial was a multinational, randomized, double-blind, flexible NEUPRO dose (2 mg/24 hours, 4 mg/24 hours, or 6 mg/24 hours), parallel-group study in which 277 early-stage Parkinson's disease patients were assigned (2: 1 ratio) to treatment with NEUPRO or placebo for a period up to about 28 weeks. This trial was conducted in 47 sites in North America (U.S. and Canada). Patches were applied to different body parts including upper or lower abdomen, thigh, hip, flank, shoulder, and/or upper arm and patch application sites were to be rotated on a daily basis. Patients underwent a weekly titration (consisting of 2 mg/24 hours increments at weekly intervals) over 3 weeks to a maximal dose of 6 mg/24 hours depending on efficacy and tolerability, and then received treatment over a 24-week maintenance phase followed by a de-escalation over a period up to 4 days. Back/down titration by a single patch (i.e., 2 mg/24 hours decrement of NEUPRO or placebo) was permitted during the titration phase for intolerable adverse events but was not permitted during the maintenance phase (i.e., patients with intolerable adverse events had to leave the study). Primary efficacy data were collected after a treatment period of up to approximately 27 weeks.

The mean age of patients was approximately 63 years (range 32-86 years; approximately 45% were 65 years or older), approximately two-thirds of all patients were men, and nearly all patients were Caucasian.

Approximately 90% of patients randomized to NEUPRO achieved a maximal daily dose of 6 mg/24 hours; 70% maintained this dose for most (more than 20 weeks) of the maintenance phase. Most enrolled patients (≥81%) completed the full treatment period.

Mean baseline combined UPDRS (Parts II + III) was similar in both groups (29.9 NEUPRO group, 30.0 placebo). NEUPRO-treated patients experienced a mean change in the combined UPDRS (Parts II + III) from baseline to end of treatment (end of treatment week 27 or last visit for patients discontinuing early) of -4.0 (Table 6), and the difference from placebo was statistically significant.

PD-3

This study was a multinational, randomized, double-blind, flexible-dose (NEUPRO 2 mg/24 hours, 4 mg/24 hours, 6 mg/24 hours, or 8 mg/24 hours), three-arm, parallel-group study using a double-dummy treatment in which 561 early-stage Parkinson's disease patients were assigned to treatment with either placebo or NEUPRO or active oral comparator in a ratio of 1: 2: 2 for a period up to about 39 weeks. This study was conducted in up to 81 sites in many countries outside of North America. Patches were applied to different body parts including upper or lower abdomen, thigh, hip, flank, shoulder, and/or upper arm and patch application sites were to be rotated on a daily basis. Treatment with a patch and placebo was given to all patients in a double-blinded manner such that no one would know the actual treatment (i.e., NEUPRO, comparator, or placebo). Patients underwent a weekly dose escalation/titration of patch (consisting of 2 mg/24 hours increments of NEUPRO or placebo) and a dose escalation of capsules of comparator or placebo over 13 weeks (13-week titration was planned for the comparator treatment) up to a maximal dose of 8 mg/24 hours of NEUPRO depending on achieving optimal efficacy or intolerability at a lower dose. Patients randomized to NEUPRO achieved the maximal dose of 8 mg/24 hours after a 4-week titration if maximal efficacy and intolerability had not occurred over a 4-week titration period. Patients then received treatment over a 24-week maintenance phase followed by a de-escalation over a period up to 12 days. A single back titration by a single patch (i.e., 2 mg/24 hours decrement of NEUPRO or placebo) or capsule was permitted during the titration phase for intolerable adverse events but was not permitted during the maintenance phase (i.e., patients with intolerable adverse events had to discontinue from this study). Primary efficacy data were collected after a treatment period of up to approximately 37 weeks of randomized treatment.

The mean age of patients was approximately 61 years (range 30-86 years; approximately 41% were 65 years or older), nearly 60% of all patients were men, and nearly all patients were Caucasian. About 73% of patients completed the full treatment period. The mean daily dose of NEUPRO was just less than 8 mg/24 hours and approximately 90% of patients achieved the maximal daily dose of 8 mg/24 hours.

Mean baseline combined UPDRS (Parts II + III) was similar across all groups (33.2 NEUPRO, 31.3 placebo, 32.2 comparator). NEUPRO-treated patients experienced a mean change in the combined UPDRS (Parts II + III) from baseline to end of treatment (end of treatment week 37 or last visit for patients discontinuing early) of -6.8, and the difference from placebo-treated patients showed a mean change from baseline of -2.3 (see Table 7), a difference that was statistically significant.

Studies in Patients with Advanced-Stage Parkinson's Disease

Patients (N=658) in the three trials of NEUPRO in advanced-stage Parkinson's disease had to be experiencing "on-off" periods at baseline, despite treatment with optimal doses of levodopa. Patients continued concomitant levodopa during the trial; however, reductions in the dosage of levodopa were allowed if patients experienced adverse events that the investigator considered related to dopaminergic therapy. Patients were excluded from the studies if they had a history of pallidotomy, thalamotomy, deep brain stimulation, or fetal tissue transplant.

Patients receiving selegiline, anticholinergic agents, or amantadine must have been on a stable dose and able to maintain that dose for the duration of the study. In the North American trial, COMT-inhibitors were not permitted.

PD-4

This trial was a multinational, three-arm, parallel-group study in which 351 advanced-stage Parkinson's disease patients were titrated over 5 weeks to treatment with either placebo or NEUPRO (8 mg/24 hours or 12 mg/24 hours) and maintained treatment for 24 weeks followed by a down titration over the last week. This study was conducted in 55 sites in North America (U.S. and Canada).

Mean baseline "off" times were similar among all treatment groups (6.4, 6.8, and 6.3 hours for the placebo, NEUPRO 8 mg/24 hours and 12 mg/24 hours treatment groups, respectively). NEUPRO-treated patients experienced a mean change in "off" time from baseline to end of treatment of -2.7 hours for the 8 mg/24 hours treatment arm and -2.1 hours for the 12 mg/24 hours treatment arm (Table 8), and the difference from placebo was statistically significant for both NEUPRO doses (8 mg/24 hours, 12 mg/24 hours). Onset of treatment benefit began as early as the first week of treatment.

PD-5

This trial was a multinational, flexible-dose, three-arm, parallel-group study using a double-dummy treatment in which 506 advanced-stage Parkinson's disease patients were titrated over 7 weeks to treatment with either NEUPRO from a minimum dose of 4 mg/24 hours up to an optimal dose not exceeding 16 mg/24 hours, active oral comparator, or placebo and maintained treatment for 16 weeks followed by a down titration over 6 days.

This study was conducted in 77 sites in many countries outside of North America.

Mean baseline "off" times were similar among all treatment groups (6.6, 6.2, and 6.0 hours for the placebo, NEUPRO, and comparator treatment groups, respectively). NEUPRO-treated patients experienced a mean 2.5 hour decrease change in "off" time from baseline to end of treatment (Table 9), and the difference from placebo was statistically significant. Onset of treatment benefit began as early as the first week of treatment. The optimal NEUPRO dose was established as 4 mg/24 hours for 2% of patients, 6 mg/24 hours for 6%, 8 mg/24 hours for 8%, 10 mg/24 hours for 9%, 12 mg/24 hours for 16%, 14 mg/24 hours for 11% and 16 mg/24 hours for 44%.