ECOPIPAM for AugmentationUPDATE

[Joolsg]

Some of you may remember that small trials of Ecopipam, a D1 antagonist were carried out by William Ondo inTexas in 2019 and showed encouraging initial results in treating Augmentation on Dopamine Agonists.

tandfonline.com/doi/full/10...

Dr Stefan Clements at East Carolina University then applied for a patent to use Ecopipam for Augmentation caused by dopamine agonists. This was granted and Emalex biosciences has now been given a manufacturing licence.

There have been larger studies taking place so hopefully we will hear the results soon.

If Ecopipam can successfully dampen the D1 receptors that cause Augmentation, that would give hope to hundreds of thousands of RLS patients taking dopamine agonists.

emalexbiosciences.com/news/...

[Madlegs1]

Great news!

[Joolsg in reply to Madlegs1]

I couldn't help wondering if Dr. Ondo is miffed that another doctor applied for the patent to use Ecopipam for augmentation?

[Madlegs1 in reply to Joolsg]

Yes-- I thought the same!😝

[Joolsg in reply to Madlegs1]

A lot of money in the US pharmaceutical industry. Kerching!

[Madlegs1 in reply to Joolsg]

A real shark pool!😎

[LotteM]

I thought it was/is only about making money. Over our 'heads'. A small study, far from conclusive and they apply for a patent. Patents should be stopped completely. Most often the largest part of the research behind a med is done by researchers at universities and the like (read: paid by governments = tax money). Only the final studies to get the medicines accepted for a special purpose / treatment is done by pharmaceutical companies. No wonder they are over-the-top rich.

I was appalled when I read about the patent and wondered why rls.org made such a big thing of it.

[Joolsg in reply to LotteM]

I agree Lotte. The small study by Dr Ondo didn't produce outstanding results so maybe Dr Clemens has tweaked or added something?

[LotteM in reply to Joolsg]

I really don't know.

[Jimbo77]

Incredible news! Thanks for sharing! I have my appointment with Dr Buchfuhrer in 2 weeks and am going to ask him his thoughts on the matter. Really exciting stuff!

[Joolsg in reply to Jimbo77]

Let us know what he thinks..

[Memmy]

So glad that you are on top of things. Thank you

[Merny5]

Thank you for sharing this information. It really is great news!

[Joolsg in reply to Merny5]

I'm cautiously optimistic. I don't know if Dr Clemens has added something or adjusted the dose but if it works to stop augmentation it would be fantastic. Fingers 🤞

[Merny5]

🤞🏼Yes!