The pharmaceutical company Roche CH0012032048 will start a pivotal Phase III trial with its Parkinson's candidate Prasinezumab.

The Swiss company announced on Monday that the drug is being tested on Parkinson's patients whose disease is still in its early stages. Last December, Roche reported a research setback with the antibody itself in a Phase IIb study called "Padova." Although prasinezumab missed the primary endpoint, it nevertheless demonstrated a potential benefit for the drug in early-stage Parkinson's disease.

The decision to further investigate the candidate in Phase III is based on data from the Padova study and the ongoing open-label extension studies of the Padova and Pasadena programs (Phase II), it was said.

Several endpoints from the studies suggest a potential clinical benefit of prasinezumab when used in addition to effective symptomatic treatment in the early stages of Parkinson's disease.

In December 2013, Roche entered into a licensing, development and commercialization agreement with the biotech company Prothena for monoclonal antibodies – such as prasinezumab – for the treatment of Parkinson's disease.