FDA panel unanimously votes down Parkinson's drug

A panel of federal medical specialists has unanimously voted that a drug for Parkinson's disease from Teva Pharmaceuticals has not been shown to slow progress of the debilitating neurological disease.

Teva's Azilect is already approved to treat symptoms of Parkinson's, which causes tremors, muscle stiffness and loss of balance.

Teva has asked the Food and Drug Administration to expand approval so that it can be prescribed to slow the underlying disease. Currently no treatments are approved for that use.

But the FDA's panel of outside experts voted 17-0 against recommending approval for that use, saying the company's clinical study results were not convincing.