US advisers back Parkinson’s dementia drug

Novartis Pharmaceuticals’ drug Exelon is safe for treating dementia in patients with Parkinson’s disease, a U.S. advisory panel recommended on Wednesday.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration panel of outside experts voted unanimously that the drug, already sold to treat Alzheimer’s disease, could also be used to treat Parkinson’s patients with dementia.

The FDA will make the final decision on whether to approve the additional use, but the agency usually follows its panelists’ advice.

Novartis’ application is the first seeking approval for a drug to treat worsening memory and other mental problems in Parkinson’s patients, according to the FDA.

About 1.5 million Americans have been diagnosed with Parkinson’s, which attacks the nervous system and causes tremors and other symptoms. Mental problems affect about 40 percent of them.

Alzheimer’s, the most common form of dementia, is a degenerative brain disease that affects at least 4.5 million Americans.

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