Frontiers of CNS Research

Due to a marked increase in the number of people over 65 and advances in scientific understanding, the demand and the potential for more safe and effective medicines for CNS disorders is growing rapidly.

The Research Challenge

Developing new therapies for CNS disorders means addressing a wide array of research challenges and unmet medical needs. Scientists are still learning about the key neurological mechanisms of action associated with different conditions. In addition, we need to identify good targets for CNS drugs, assess therapeutic efficacy, find reliable biomarkers to guide decision making, and learn how to improve the efficacy or tolerability of existing therapies. Fortunately, advances in our understanding of CNS disorders, new research insights, emerging imaging and other technologies are adding to our core understanding. 

Approaches to Research Discovery

One important area of research into new CNS drugs is to improve the tolerability and duration of action for existing beneficial treatments. Impax is actively conducting research in this area, focusing on products where we can apply our technical insight to create new treatments to deliver improved efficacy and better overall patient outcomes. As another approach, Impax Pharmaceuticals is also developing CNS drugs that have been approved in other countries, but not yet developed and approved in the US, bringing significant new therapeutic options to US patients and physicians.  

Improving Outcomes in Parkinson’s Disease

Impax Pharmaceuticals is focused on improving clinical outcomes of patients with movement disorders. In Parkinson’s disease (PD), patients with advanced disease are constantly engaged in a battle with their debilitating symptoms. Currently, the gold standard (levodopa) provides limited duration of control and unfortunately also delivers inconsistent results, which can negatively impact patient quality of life. Impax Pharmaceuticals has addressed these problems through formulation innovation to develop an improved carbidopa-levodopa product, currently in Phase III clinical trials to demonstrate the superiority of this medication over existing options and make it available to treat the majority of PD sufferers. 

Related Areas of Research

The Impax Pharmaceuticals R&D team is also focused on other CNS disorders, such as spasticity, Restless Legs Syndrome and epilepsy and has other promising compounds nearing clinical trials.