The Parkinson’s disease treatment pipeline presents a distinctly more promising landscape than the current market, which is burdened with unmet needs and a lack of disease-modifying drugs, said business intelligence provider GBI Research.

According to the company’s latest report, the current Parkinson’s disease treatment market relies on neuromodulators, and although levodopa and dopaminergic treatments can be used to relieve symptoms, there is not an agent that has demonstrated neuroprotective properties to prevent or at least significantly slow neuronal cell death.

However, Angel Wong, senior analyst for GBI Research, said that the pipeline for the disease is highly active, consisting of 365 programs across all stages of development, and a diverse range of molecular targets.

Wong said, “The Parkinson’s disease treatment pipeline is characterized by a high level of innovation compared to the central nervous system segment and the industry as a whole, with 43% of all pipeline programs with disclosed molecular targets being first-in-class.

“While neuromodulators remain dominant in the pipeline, there are a number of targets which address different pathogenic mechanisms underlying neurodegeneration in Parkinson’s disease. This demonstrates a shift from traditional symptomatic treatments to disease-modifying therapies.”

The analyst adds that as the majority of potentially disease-modifying treatments are in the early stages of development, they are expected to fulfill a huge unmet need in the Parkinson’s disease treatment market in the long term.  

GBI Research’s report also states that there are 94 first-in-class products available for strategic consolidations, meaning a vast number of investment opportunities are available for licensing or co-development deals in Parkinson’s disease therapeutics.

Wong said, “There is substantial focus on early-stage collaboration in Parkinson’s disease treatment, especially for first-in-class products. This is predominantly driven by growing unmet needs, the current lack of disease-modifying therapies and a desire for risk-sharing. Several first-in-class products have demonstrated promising preclinical evidence, and have significant potential to become game-changing products, representing high-reward investments.”