Long-Term Slowing of Progression in Huntington's Disease with Pridopidine Treatment

BackgroundHuntingtons disease (HD) causes progressive loss of function, cognition, and motor control, with no approved therapy yet shown to slow disease progression. In the PROOF-HD phase 3 trial, pridopidine did not meet the primary or key secondary outcomes in the overall population, but participants who remained off antidopaminergic medications (ADMs) showed benefits compared to placebo during the double-blind phase. Whether such benefits continue with longer duration treatment and how they compare with expected natural-history trajectories remains unknown. MethodsWe evaluated outcomes through Week 104 from baseline in participants who received continuous pridopidine (45 mg twice daily) and remained off-ADMs throughout the double-blind and open-label extension period (n=90). External comparators from ENROLL-HD and TRACK-HD were constructed using propensity-score weighting methods. Least-squares mean changes from baseline to Week 104 were estimated using mixed-effects models for repeated measures across outcomes. ResultsAt two-years, pridopidine treatment was associated with benefits versus propensity-score weighted natural-history comparators across multiple outcomes. Relative to ENROLL-HD, participants receiving pridopidine showed slowing of progression over 104 weeks, expressed as percent slowing across cUHDRS, TFC, SWR, SDMT, and TMS outcomes (39.5-88.3% slowing). Similar patterns were observed relative to TRACK-HD across the same measures (48.5 - 81.5% slowing), including quantitative motor performance assessed by Q-Motor FT-IOI (77.8% slowing). Exploratory analyses including participants receiving concomitant ADMs showed similar directional patterns as the primary analyses. ConclusionsIn a two-year follow-up, continuous pridopidine treatment in participants remaining off-ADMs was associated with slower clinical progression relative to expected natural-history trajectories. (Clinical Trials Identifier: NCT04556656)