rotigotine (Neupro)

Following a full submission

rotigotine (Neupro®) is accepted for restricted use within NHS Scotland for the treatment of the signs and symptoms of advanced idiopathic Parkinson’s disease in combination with levodopa; i.e. over the course of the disease, through to late stages when the effect of levodopa wears off or becomes inconsistent and fluctuations of the therapeutic effect occur (end of dose or “on-off” fluctuations).

Rotigotine increased the proportion of patients achieving ? 30% reduction in “off” time compared with placebo, but appeared to be less effective than another non-ergolinic dopamine agonist. Rotigotine trans-dermal patch offers an alternative non-ergolinic dopamine agonist at a lower cost in a formulation that does not have to be taken by mouth. It is restricted to patients where this route would facilitate treatment.