The SUNRISE-PD trial was a Phase 2, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial designed to establish proof-of-mechanism and proof-of-concept in patients with early-stage PD that had not previously been treated with carbidopa/levodopa. Under the statistical analysis plan submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the study’s primary pharmacodynamic assessment focused on changes in a predefined panel of blood-based inflammatory markers of disease. The study also evaluated motor and non-motor endpoints, clinician-rated outcomes, quality-of-life, and safety and tolerability measures to assess bezisterim’s activity and clinical profile in early PD, with the goal of informing the design of a potentially pivotal Phase 3 trial.
The trial successfully met prespecified endpoints and achieved its objectives, with topline results showing that bezisterim improved blood based inflammatory markers of disease, along with a broad range of biological markers associated with overall cellular health and nerve cell damage. Participants treated with bezisterim experienced greater improvements than those receiving placebo across a series of clinical outcome measures of daily living, motor symptoms, and non-motor symptoms
