Functionally Scored Carbidopa/Levodopa Tablet for Parkinson Disease Treatment Made Available 

Approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in November 2021, a new functionally scored carbidopa/levodopa (CD/LD) (Dhivy, Avion Pharmaceuticals, Alpharetta, GA) is now available for treatment of Parkinson disease (PD). Each tablet contains carbidopa and levodopa 25 mg/100 mg and is scored for division into 4 segments, each containing 6.25 mg CD and 25 mg LD. The ability to take quarter, half, or whole tablets enables more precise dosing and directly addresses the need for titration of the gold standard treatment most commonly used for PD.  

For many with PD, it is difficult to manage off-time and adverse events that result from challenges of dosing CD/LD. This can lead to adverse events such as dyskinesia or off-episodes that can result in temporary paralysis. 

“Fine tuning each individual’s optimal CD/LD dose in increments of less than 50 mg of levodopa is extremely unreliable. The option to accurately and reliably fractionate the CD/LD dose in 6.25/25 mg increments provides physicians and patients with the long-overdue possibility to better personalize PD management,” said Dr. Leo Verhagen Metman, MD, Rush University Medical Group. “This can be helpful not only for brittle patients who aim to navigate the rocky road of motor fluctuations and dyskinesia, but also for those with milder disease who want to take no more CD/LD than strictly needed.”

“While no 2 patients with PD are the same, the burden all patients face is significant. Avion is pleased to bring Dhivy to the market to help these patients and their providers better manage CD/LD dosing needs with a more individualized experience,” stated Harold “Art” Deas, chief executive officer of Alora Pharmaceuticals. “The innovative tablet design provides a new way to individualize every dose and mitigate some of the challenges patients currently face when it comes to their medication management.”