There is a rapid increase in the number of patients diagnosed with Parkinson’s, with an alarming 329,000 deaths due to the condition this year. This approximates to ~100% increase since 2019. To address this condition, the only medication currently available is Levodopa, more commonly known as L-DOPA, a precursor of dopamine. With the ability to cross the blood brain barrier, it has been globally used to treat millions of patients. However, due to several side effects such as irregular heartbeat, nausea, anxiety, chills, shortness of breath etc. there is an urgent need to identify alternate treatment regimens. Carbidopa, with a different mechanism of action, poses side effects such as agitation, depression (suicidal), blurred vision, dizziness, drowsiness and so on, thus increasing the need for new medication for this health condition that is crippling the society. At NBI, the search was initiated for active molecules from natural sources to address this demand.

Working with over 10,000 plant molecules and evaluating their activity through high throughput in silico screening techniques, NBI initiated their search for a novel therapeutic formulation for Parkinson’s keeping in mind the following few critical factors – targeted mechanism of action, ability to cross the blood brain barrier and most importantly, no side effects. Using the aid of in vitro assays and following it up with clinical data, NBI has developed a unique formulation comprising 3 potent naturally derived molecules that promise to be the future solution for Parkinson’s.