GENEVA, April 13, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Merck Serono, a division of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, and its partner Newron Pharmaceuticals S.p.A., today announced that new data on safinamide will be presented at the 63rd Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) taking place from April 9 to 16, in Honolulu, Hawaii. Safinamide is currently being assessed in Phase III trials as add-on treatment to dopamine agonist or levodopa in early to late stage Parkinson's disease (PD).

"The data presented at the upcoming AAN meeting will further contribute to the substantial body of knowledge about safinamide," said Dr. Bernhard Kirschbaum, Merck Serono's Head of Global Research and Development. "We are committed to provide new therapy options for patients with Parkinson's disease, an area with significant remaining medical need."

"Newron is very excited about the results to be presented at the AAN and we expect that results of the ongoing phase III trials will further substantiate the emerging therapeutic profile of safinamide," said Dr. Ravi Anand, Newron's Chief Medical Officer.

The following abstracts have been accepted for presentation at the 63rd AAN Annual Meeting:

Safinamide

Late-breaking poster presentation

- First long-term (2-year) controlled study to evaluate treatment with safinamide as add-on to levodopa in patients with Parkinson's disease and motor fluctuations (poster P05.287, Wednesday, April 13, 2011, 2:00 PM)

Platform presentation

- Safinamide reduces levodopa-induced dyskinesia and extends ON time over 7 days of daily dosing in the MPTP primate model (presentation S33.002, Wednesday, April 13, 2011, 3:15 PM)