American & European Parkinson's Disease Patients Can Now Access New Rasagiline (Agilect, Azilect) Drug Treatment From Israel
Israel is one of the first nations to approve a new Parkinson's Disease drug called Rasagiline (also called Agilect or Azilect). Now, many American & European patients with the neurodegenerative disease are turning to Isrameds.com, Israel's only international mail order pharmacy, to obtain the novel treatment.
Rehovot, Israel (PRWEB) May 24, 2005 -- After experiencing Pope John Paul
II's recent death, caused by his long battle with Parkinson's Disease, many of
the 1.5 million U.S. and European patients afflicted by the neurodegenerative
condition are turning to Israel to obtain the latest treatment Rasagiline
(Agilect, Azilect) to fight it.
Rasagiline was approved by the Israeli
Minister of Health on January 4, by the European Commission on February 28, and
was launched for sale in Israel in March. It will not be available in most of
Europe or the United States until later this year.
Already, Isrameds.com
(www.isrameds.com), Israel's
only international mail order pharmacy, reports that it has had 80 orders for
Rasagiline and is receiving dozens of inquiries about it every day from American
and European consumers and their physicians.
"Parkinson Disease patients
across the U.S. and Europe are desperate for any new therapy that shows
considerable promise," said Avi Fadida, Isrameds.com Marketing Manager. "Because
Rasagiline will not be available in other countries for several months at the
earliest, Isrameds.com is one of the first pharmacies in the world to provide
the treatment to our international customers."
Fadida said dozens of
Parkinson Disease specialists in the United States are currently ordering
Rasagiline for their patients. Canadian pharmacies are unable to dispense the
drug because it has not yet been approved by Health Canada, Canada's drug
regulatory authority.
Rasagiline is sold as a once-daily 1-mg tablet as
monotherapy for the treatment of early Parkinson's disease and as an adjunct
therapy for more advanced Parkinson's Disease. Rasagiline is a
second-generation, irreversible monoamine oxidase type-B (MAO-B) inhibitor that
blocks the breakdown of dopamine. Dopamine is a substance in the brain needed to
facilitate movement.
Its approval was based on the results of studies of
more than 1,600 patients showing that Rasagiline monotherapy significantly
improves motor symptoms and quality of life in patients with early PD. In
addition, its adjunct use in patients with advanced disease significantly
reduced "off time" and improved associated motor
fluctuations.
Isrameds.com sells 30 tablets of the 1-mg Rasagiline
medication for US$279.
Patients and physicians can learn more about
Rasagiline by calling Isrameds.com toll free at 1-866-ISRA-BUY(477-2289) or
visiting its website at www.isrameds.com.
Parkinson's Disease (PD) is a
chronic, progressive neurodegenerative condition. The exact cause of PD is not
known and is believed to be multifactorial involving genes, environmental
factors and aging. Symptoms include tremor, slowness of movement, stiffness,
gait and posture problems. As the disease progresses, symptoms worsen, the
patient is likely to experience motor complications. Eventually, the disease
impairs the patient's ability to function. PD affects men and women equally, and
an estimated four million people worldwide suffer from the disease. The disease
typically occurs at a late age, affecting approximately 1 percent of the
population over the age of 65.
To learn more about Rasagiline and other
Parkinson's Disease treatments and background on the condition, contact the
European Parkinson's Disease Association (www.epda.eu.com) and the American Parkinson Disease
Association (www.apdaparkinson.org).
Rasgiline was developed based
on research by Israeli-based Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Ltd. and
Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. The drug is being developed and
marketed in Europe by Teva and H. Lundbeck A/S. The treatment's brand name is
"Azilect" in Europe and it will be called "Agilect" in the United
States.
Media Contact:
Michael Pirages,
Pirages Communications
773-769-1616
# # #
Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/5/prweb244337.htm