Pride-HD study enrolling patients globally to further evaluate pridopidine for the symptomatic treatment of Huntington’s Disease

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE: TEVA) announced today enrollment of the first patient in The Pride-HD study, a phase II, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled global study designed to evaluate the impact of pridopidine, an investigational medication, on motor impairment in patients with Huntington’s disease (HD).

“Huntington’s disease represents a significant unmet medical need as there are currently no treatments that improve the motor movements that are crucial for gait, balance and coordination –things that greatly impact a patient,” said Professor G. Bernhard Landwehrmeyer, M.D., Ph.D, FRCP, lead study investigator and professor of neurology, Ulm University Hospital, Germany. “Based on previous observations using the compound, we believe pridopidine holds promise for symptomatic relief with an acceptable safety profile.”

“Existing treatments aren’t appropriate for some patients due to side effects and the predominant effect on involuntary movements,” said Karl Kieburtz, M.D., study investigator and director of the Clinical & Translational Science Institute, University of Rochester Medical Center. “Based on the preliminary clinical evidence to date, we believe pridopidine has the potential to make a real difference in the lives of HD patients and families.”

The start of patient enrollment in The Pride-HD Study represents the latest milestone in Teva’s commitment to developing medicines to improve the quality of life for patients suffering from devastating CNS diseases, such as Huntington’s disease.

“People with HD are in urgent need of new treatments and we are committed to investigating the potential benefit of pridopidine as quickly as possible,” said Michael Hayden, M.D., a leading expert in the study of Huntington’s disease and President of Global R&D and Chief Scientific Officer at Teva.

“Pridopidine has shown promising results in previous advanced-stage clinical trials and merits additional study, as it has the potential to have a significant effect on Total Motor Score (TMS) – the endpoint most commonly used in the assessment of treatment efficacy in HD,” said Dr. Ralf Reilmann, study investigator and founding director and C.E.O., George-Huntington-Institute, Münster, Germany.