Bukwang Pharmaceutical said Monday that it has won the approval of the French authorities to conduct phase 2 clinical trials for JM-010, a drug candidate for levodopa-induced dyskinesia (LID).

The drug, developed by Contera Pharma, a Denmark bio-venture acquired by Bukwang in 2014, is a new drug candidate that treats LID, a disease that many Parkinson's disease patients suffer from after long-term administration of levodopa, a standard treatment for the illness.

JM-010 has proved its efficacy and safety after completing phase 1 and 2 clinical trials, and the company observed no severe adverse effects.

Bukwang expects the drug candidate to become the best LID treatment.

With the French approval, the company plans to start recruiting patients from early next year after receiving regulatory nods from other European countries such as Germany and Spain.

“Bukwang's winning approval for clinical trials in Europe has accelerated the development of JM-010 for LID treatment,” a company official said. “The company expects that the drug will become a mandatory LID therapy for all Parkinson's patients in the future.”