Rotigotine

Rotigotine (Neupro) is a dopamine agonist of the non-ergoline class of medications indicated for the treatment of Parkinson's disease (PD) and Willis-Ekbom Disease (WED) formerly known as restless legs syndrome (RLS) in Europe and the United States. It is formulated as a once-daily transdermal patch which provides a slow and constant supply of the drug over the course of 24 hours.

Like other dopamine agonists, rotigotine has been shown to possess antidepressant effects and may be useful in the treatment of depression as well.

History

Rotigotine was first developed in 1985 as N-0427 by a team from the University of Groningen. Development was then continued by Aderis Pharmaceuticals. In 1998, Aderis licensed worldwide development and commercialization rights for rotigotine to the German pharmaceutical company Schwarz Pharma (today a subsidiary of the Belgian company UCB S.A.).

The drug has been approved by the EMEA for use in Europe in 2006 and is today being sold in several European countries. In 2007, the Neupro patch was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as the first transdermal treatment of Parkinson's disease in the United States. However, as of 2008, Schwarz Pharma has recalled all Neupro patches in the United States and some in Europe because of problems with the delivery mechanism. The patch was reformulated, and was reintroduced in the United States in 2012.