PWSA Blog

Exciting News on Carbetocin for PWS!

Sara Cotter, mom to a child with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS), has formed a company dedicated to advancing treatments for PWS and related disorders. The company is called Levo Therapeutics (www.levotheraputics.com). Sara has years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, most recently as an analyst with UBS. She recently left her job to pursue the leadership of Levo Therapeutics full time. Her commitment to PWS through Levo Therapeutics is a positive step for development of therapeutic options for the PWS community.

Today, Levo Therapeutics announced that it has agreed to terms to obtain worldwide rights to Carbetocin from Ferring Pharmaceuticals. Carbetocin is closely related to oxytocin-it was specifically designed to have the benefits of oxytocin while limiting its potential unwanted side effects.

See the full Levo Therapeutics press release by Clicking HERE

Ferring has completed a successful Phase II study of Carbetocin in PWS. There are three phases in drug development and Carbetocin is ready to enter the third and final stage. Carbetocin is the fastest and best chance for a therapeutic option for an oxytocin-like drug. Levo Therapeutics plans to complete its transaction with Ferring Pharmaceuticals and build financial and human resources to perform a Phase III trial with PWS. If successful, they could then be in position to seek approval from the FDA for its use in PWS.

Exactly how the funds we raised to support the further development of “oxytocin” may be best used with Carbetocin/oxytocin is being evaluated. It is however clear that through our raising of substantial funds as a PWS community, we have spurred increased activity on oxytocin/Carbetocin that led to today’s announcement.

The result of that activity- having a talented PWS mom leading the development of Carbetocin– is a very exciting step forward!

Sincerely,

Rob Lutz
Research Chair
Prader-Willi Syndrome Association (USA)

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