OPICAPONE

Opicapone is a ring assembly and an oxadiazole.|Opicapone is a potent, reversible, and peripherally-acting third-generation inhibitor of catechol-o-methyltransferase (COMT), an enzyme involved in the breakdown of various catecholamines including dopamine. In June 2016, the European Commission granted a marketing authorization valid throughout the European Union for OPC, indicated as adjunct therapy to levodopa and decarboxylase inhibitors in adult patients with Parkinson's disease and end-of-dose motor fluctuations. In April 2020, the FDA approved the use of opicapone as adjunctive treatment to levodopa/carbidopa in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) experiencing “off” episodes. Opicapone is marketed as, under the brand name Ongentys as once-daily oral capsules. Almost all individuals with Parkinson’s disease whom are treated with levodopa plus a dopa decarboxylase (DDC) inhibitor (eg carbidopa) will develop motor complications in time. The initial step in the management is changing the levodopa/DDC inhibitor dosage and the use of adjunct drugs. Various options include supplementing with a dopamine agonist, a monoamine oxidase B inhibitor (selegiline, rasagiline), a catechol-O-methyl transferase (COMT) inhibitor, or amantadine, or using a modified-release formulation of levodopa. The newest adjunctive option is opicapone. This drug is a peripherally selective reversible COMT inhibitor that offers the benefit of a duration of action exceeding 24h, allowing for once-daily administration. Opicapone demonstrates the lowest risk for cytotoxicity in comparison with other catechol-O-methyltransferase inhibitors.|Opicapone is a Catechol-O-Methyltransferase Inhibitor. The mechanism of action of opicapone is as a Catechol O-Methyltransferase Inhibitor.