The efficacy and role of opicapone

In routine clinical practice, once-daily administration of opicapone 50 mg as an adjunct to levodopa-treated patients with motor fluctuation Parkinson's disease (PD) significantly improved patients' perception of their overall PD status. Opicapone is generally well tolerated and results in significant improvements in quality of life and motor and non-motor symptoms. These findings confirm the clinical utility of opicapone 50 mg as an effective adjunctive option for the control of motor fluctuations in levodopa-treated Parkinson's disease.

Opicapone is aCOMT inhibitor used to improve the effectiveness and duration of action of levodopa, the standard drug treatment for Parkinson's disease. Opicapone works by blocking COMT-mediated peripheral degradation of levodopa. Opicapone has a long duration of action, with COMT inhibition lasting more than 24 hours after a 50 mg dose. In clinical trials, opicapone as adjunctive therapy to levodopa plus a dopa decarboxylase inhibitor significantly improved motor fluctuations compared with placebo and was as effective as entacapone. Orally administered opicapone exhibits a linear, dose-dependent absorption curve, is rapidly absorbed, and has an oral bioavailability of approximately 20%. After a single 50 mg dose of opicapone, the mean Tmax was 2 hours, with a range of 1 to 4 hours.

Opicapone has not yet been launched in the country, so it is not covered by medical insurance. The European version of Opicapone’s original drug specifications listed overseasThe price per box of 50mg*90 capsules is around RMB 6,000 (the price may fluctuate due to the exchange rate). There is currently no generic version of Opicapone on the market. For more drug information and specific prices, please consult Yaode’s medical consultant.