Parkinson’s therapy Bemdaneprocel shows benefits up to 2 years

Data from the Phase 1 exPDite trial of bemdaneprocel, a novel cell therapy developed by Bluerock Therapeutics for Parkinson’s disease, demonstrated that patients experienced more time with well-controlled motor symptoms and reduced time spent in off periods, where medication fails to manage symptoms effectively. The therapy, which involves transplanting dopamine-producing cells into the brain, was found to be safe and well-tolerated for up to 24 months post-surgery, even after patients stopped immunosuppressive treatment. In the study, patients who received the higher dose of bemdaneprocel showed greater improvements in motor symptoms, with reductions of 21.9 points in the MDS-Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS), compared to an 8.3-point reduction in the low-dose group. Additionally, high-dose participants experienced an increase in "on" time—periods with optimal symptom control—by an average of 1.8 hours, while off time decreased by 1.9 hours. These encouraging results provide strong support for advancing bemdaneprocel to a Phase 2, placebo-controlled trial to further explore its therapeutic potential.