Oct 20, 2026
150 mg dose also improved on time without troublesome dyskinesia
Written by Andrea Lobo | Oct. 13, 2026
- Solengepras (CVN424) is an investigational oral treatment being studied for motor and non-motor Parkinson’s symptoms.
- The Phase 3 ARISE trial found 150 mg significantly reduced average daily off time and improved daily motor function.
- Cerevance plans to discuss the results with the FDA and next steps for a potential New Drug Application.
The 150 mg dose of solengepras (CVN424), Cerevance’s investigational oral treatment for Parkinson’s disease, significantly reduced average daily off time — periods when symptoms reappear despite medication — compared with placebo, according to topline results from a Phase 3 trial.
The Phase 3 ARISE trial (NCT06553027) evaluated the safety and efficacy of solengepras in addition to standard treatments in people with Parkinson’s disease who experience motor fluctuations. The trial enrolled 341 participants at sites worldwide, completing enrollment earlier this year.
“ARISE met its primary endpoint and showed a consistent pattern of benefit across OFF time, ON time, daily motor function, daytime alertness and quality of life, together with favorable tolerability,” Craig Thompson, Cerevance’s CEO, said in a company press release. “We look forward to discussing these results with the FDA to determine next steps.”
How solengepras may help control Parkinson’s motor symptoms
Parkinson’s disease is caused by the loss of nerve cells that produce dopamine, a chemical messenger that helps control movement. Levodopa, which the brain converts into dopamine, is a standard treatment for easing Parkinson’s motor symptoms. However, long-term use of levodopa can lead to off periods and dyskinesia, or sudden, involuntary movements.
Solengepras is designed to block GPR6, a receptor found on specific nerve cells in the striatum, a brain region involved in controlling voluntary movement. By blocking GPR6, solengepras is designed to help restore balance between brain pathways involved in movement without directly altering dopamine levels or signaling.
The ARISE trial evaluated once-daily solengepras at 75 or 150 mg versus placebo in people with Parkinson’s who averaged at least three hours of off time per day despite treatment with levodopa and other Parkinson’s medications.
According to the company, the 150 mg dose met the trial’s primary goal, significantly reducing average daily off time by 0.61 hours, or about 37 minutes, versus placebo at Week 12. A difference between the treatment and placebo groups was seen as early as Week 2, the first assessment after treatment began, and at each subsequent visit through Week 12.
The 150 mg dose also increased on time without troublesome dyskinesia by 36 minutes versus placebo.
The 150 mg dose also significantly improved motor experiences of daily living, with a 1.91-point improvement versus placebo, as measured by Part 2 of the Movement Disorder Society-Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale. Participants receiving the 150 mg dose also had less daytime sleepiness on a secondary measure and better quality of life on an exploratory measure.
Oct 19, 2026
Arvinas' ARV-102 linked to improved eye movement control in Phase 1 study
Written by Andrea Lobo | Oct. 14, 2026
- ARV-102 successfully crossed the blood-brain barrier, reduced LRRK2 levels, and improved eye movement in a Phase 1 trial.
- The results build on earlier data showing promise for the experimental treatment.
- The drug's developer said the study supports further clinical evaluation of ARV-102.
Phase 1 trial results showed an experimental oral therapy was associated with improved eye movement control, lower levels of neuroinflammatory biomarkers, and higher markers of nerve cell health in people with Parkinson’s disease.
The results from the ARV-102-103 trial (EUCT 2024-516888-84-00) build on findings presented earlier this year showing that Arvinas‘ ARV-102 reached the brain and reduced levels of its target protein, LRRK2, in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF, the fluid that surrounds the brain and spinal cord). ARV-102 was also found to be generally safe and well tolerated.
The findings were shared at the Movement Disorders Society International Congress of Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders, held last week in Seoul, South Korea. The data were presented as late-breaking oral and poster presentations titled “Phase 1 Study of ARV-102, a PROTAC LRRK2 Degrader, in Parkinson’s Disease: Oculomotor and Biomarker Data.”
“Although this study was not designed to assess clinical efficacy, we are encouraged by the exploratory dose-related changes in [abnormal eye movements] and their associations with LRRK2 degradation and changes in pathway biomarkers,” Ilaria Conti, MD, PhD, Arvinas’ vice president of clinical research, said in a company press release. “These findings support further clinical evaluation of ARV-102.”
Mutations in the LRRK2 gene, which encodes a protein of the same name, are one of the most common genetic causes of Parkinson’s. LRRK2 is often overactive in Parkinson’s, which can disrupt waste recycling within cells and exacerbate inflammation, causing damage to nerve cells.
Oct 16, 2026
New once-daily med Juvmo aims to maintain control of motor symptoms
Written by Marisa Horak, MS | Sept. 29, 2026
- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved tavapadon, now known as Juvmo, to help better manage Parkinson's motor symptoms.
- The once-daily oral therapy, which uses a novel mechanism, is the first of its kind to win FDA approval, according to its developer.
- In clinical trials, Juvmo was shown to control motor symptoms and help delay the start of levodopa treatment.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved tavapadon — an oral drug aimed at maintaining consistent control of motor symptoms — as a new treatment for adults with Parkinson’s disease.
The therapy’s developer, AbbVie, will market the once-daily med, taken as tablets, under the brand name Juvmo, according to a company press release. It’s expected to be commercially available in the U.S. in October. The newly approved therapy can be taken with or without levodopa treatment.
The company noted that Juvmo acts through a novel mechanism, making it the first therapy of its kind to receive FDA authorization for Parkinson’s.
“The approval of Juvmo marks the first dopaminergic breakthrough for Parkinson’s disease in decades,” said Roopal Thakkar, MD, executive vice president, research and development, chief scientific officer at Abbvie.
According to the developer, Juvmo “offers patients a differentiated approach to motor symptom control across the Parkinson’s disease continuum.”
Parkinson’s is marked by the progressive loss of brain cells that produce dopamine, a key neurotransmitter, or brain signaling molecule, that helps control movement and emotion. Standard Parkinson’s treatment involves levodopa, which works to give the brain more raw material to make dopamine. However, as the disease progresses and more dopamine-making cells are lost, patients typically need increasingly higher levodopa doses, which can increase the risk of side effects.
Dopamine agonists — drugs that mimic the activity of dopamine — have also been used for years as part of Parkinson’s treatment. But most dopamine agonists now on the market target specific dopamine receptors, namely D2 and D3. Activating these receptors may help ease Parkinson’s symptoms, but this strategy can also cause side effects.
Oct 15, 2026
Colorado State University team to target distinct variant of alpha-synuclein
Written by Andrea Lobo | Oct. 1, 2026
- A $3 million federal grant will fund new research into how a distinct variant of the alpha-synuclein protein contributes to Parkinson’s disease dementia.
- The National Institutes of Health award allows scientists from Colorado State University to build on their earlier work in a mouse model of the disease.
- The team is aiming to develop better diagnostic tools and future disease-halting therapies for people with Parkinson's.
A team at Colorado State University (CSU) has been awarded $3 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to investigate how a distinct variant of the alpha-synuclein protein — which can build up into toxic clumps in the brain — contributes to Parkinson’s disease with dementia.
The federal grant will allow the university’s researchers to study how this variant spreads through the nervous system. The team’s ultimate goal is to develop therapies to stop the disease’s progression, according to a university news story announcing the funding.
The five-year project, led by Amanda Woerman, PhD, an associate professor at CSU, will build on the team’s previous identification of a unique alpha-synuclein variant in a person with Parkinson’s disease dementia. The researchers will now try to determine how this variant may contribute to the disease’s progression — potentially informing future diagnostic and treatment approaches.
“We’re getting closer to understanding what drives these types of diseases,” Woerman said. “If we can learn how this specific variant causes Parkinson’s with dementia, it will help us better understand what we need to do to successfully intervene and stop the disease.”
Oct 14, 2026
Benefits seen both alone and with virtual reality training in small trial
Written by Patricia Inácio, PhD | Oct. 2, 2026
- An eight-week program of arm and hand exercises was found to ease tremor and improve grip strength in people with Parkinson's.
- Adding virtual reality training using Nintendo Wii games also boosted hand dexterity among participants in the small clinical trial.
- The researchers concluded that this type of exercise program, with or without VR training, may provide benefits for those living with Parkinson's.
Eight weeks of exercises designed to strengthen the arms and hands while muscles lengthen reduced tremor and improved grip strength and hand function in people with Parkinson’s disease, the results of a small randomized clinical trial show.
The benefits were seen whether the exercises were done alone or combined with virtual reality (VR) training using video games, according to the researchers. Nearly half of the study participants were first given VR training for less than 30 minutes using Nintendo Wii games.
Trial data showed that only the group that also used VR games showed a significant improvement in fine hand movements — the small, precise motions needed for tasks such as handling buttons or picking up small objects. Still, the researchers noted that outcomes between the two groups did not differ significantly, so the results do not definitely indicate that adding virtual reality was better than doing the exercises without such training.
“Exercises alone or added to Nintendo Wii games can mitigate tremors and improve strength and gross manual dexterity in Parkinson’s disease,” the researchers wrote. “Adding virtual reality further benefits fine manual dexterity, suggesting a valuable role for gamified rehabilitation.”
The study, “Effects of eccentric upper limbs exercises, added with virtual reality, on tremor and upper limbs function in people with Parkinson’s disease: A randomized clinical trial,” was published in the Journal of Hand Therapy.
Parkinson’s is characterized by progressive motor symptoms, including tremor. People with Parkinson’s can also develop muscle weakness and reduced hand dexterity, making everyday tasks more difficult.
So-called eccentric exercise is a type of training that involves producing force as a muscle lengthens, for example, slowly lowering a weight. Such exercises can promote muscle strengthening and neural adaptations and have previously been investigated as a means of reducing tremor in people with Parkinson’s.
Virtual reality provides another rehabilitation approach that combines physical movement with cognitive demands, such as attention, planning, and visuospatial processing. VR games allow users to control virtual activities through physical movements, potentially providing repeated, task-oriented training and visual feedback. Previous studies have suggested VR may help motor coordination and dexterity.
Testing exercise with and without virtual reality training
Now, researchers in Brazil tested whether combining VR games, specifically those on the Nintendo Wii, with eccentric upper-limb exercises would provide additional benefits to lessen tremor and improve muscle strength and hand dexterity in people with Parkinson’s.
The trial, which involved 25 people with Parkinson’s, was conducted at a single center in the country. All participants were taking dopamine-replacing medications, which increase or mimic the effects of dopamine, the chemical messenger in the brain that helps control movement and is progressively lost in Parkinson’s.
A total of 14 patients were randomly assigned to receive eccentric upper-limb exercise alone, while 11 received the same exercises plus Nintendo Wii training. The groups did not differ significantly in demographic or clinical characteristics, though the Wii group had a somewhat higher proportion of women (55% vs. 43%). The mean age of those in the exercise-only group was 63.5, while that of the participants in the VR group was 59.8.
Both groups completed eccentric exercises twice weekly for eight weeks or about two months, for a total of 16 sessions. The exercises targeted muscles involved in elbow bending and wrist movement, with resistance progressively adjusted for each participant. Each eccentric exercise session lasted about 35 minutes.
The Wii group received an additional 20 minutes of virtual reality training using tennis and boxing games from Wii Sports and cycling and canoeing from Wii Sports Resort. The games required combinations of arm movements alongside attention, planning, concentration, and visuospatial skills.
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