Fampridine Acorda Therapeutics

Fampridine (EL-970; 4-aminopyridine), a potassium channel blocker, is in phase II development by Acorda for the potential treatment of spinal cord injuries and multiple sclerosis (MS) [385529]. Originally, Elan was evaluating fampridine for the treatment of spinal cord injuries in collaboration with Acorda Therapeutics [243393]. The drug was licensed from Rush Medical Center and Elan holds worldwide rights with Rush to provide clinical and technical support. Elan has used its Intestinal Protective Drug Absorption System (IPDAS) drug delivery system to produce Neurelan, which is a controlled-release (twice daily) formulation of fampridine [223736]. However, it seems possible that production of Neurelan might be taken over by Acorda [381211]. Acorda completed preliminary phase II trials of the drug for spinal cord injury (SCI) in 1998 [303023]. In February 2000, the company predicted that it would begin the a late-stage phase II trial for chronic (long-term) SCI in the first quarter of 2000 [355696], [350955]. The trial, which will be double-blind, randomized and placebo-controlled, will enroll 90 people with chronic SCI at 10 US rehabilitation centers [355696]. As of July 2000, phase II studies for chronic SCI were underway and phase III studies are expected to begin in 2001 [376610]. Results presented at the EPHAR '99 congress showed that contractions induced by 4-AP in porcine coronary arteries, are likely to depend on the neuronal 5-HT, but not on the noradrenaline store in this tissue [334161].