Rotigotine transdermal system: a short review

Rotigotine (Neupro(®)) is a new non-ergolinic dopamine agonist transdermal patch that can be applied once daily. To date, it is approved for the treatment of early Parkinson’s disease as monotherapy and has been shown to be effective in the treatment of advanced-stage Parkinson’s disease and restless legs syndrome in several clinical trials. This review gives an overview of physical, chemical, and pharmaceutical characteristics, pharmacokinetics, biotransformation and elimination, drug interactions, and adverse events of rotigotine. Further, the rationale for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease and restless legs syndrome with rotigotine is discussed.