PhotoPharmics Highlights Phase 3 Parkinson’s Trial and FDA Breakthrough Status at 2025 MDS Congress

Honolulu — October 7, 2025

PhotoPharmics is showcasing its next-generation light-based therapy for Parkinson’s disease at this week’s International Congress of Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders, October 5-9, 2025, highlighting progress in its pivotal Light for PD Phase 3 trial and new insights into photo neurostimulation’s clinical potential.

At booth #732, the American Fork, Utah-based medtech company is presenting:

• Updates from the Phase 3 Light for PD trial, a double-blind, randomized study enrolling approximately 350 participants, with anticipated completion in April 2026. The participant list of 350 is nearly complete. The company is accepting no new candidates for participation.
• Highlights from Phase 2 data, which showed clinically meaningful improvements in both motor and non-motor symptoms — including sleep, alertness, mood, apathy, and fatigue — among Parkinson’s patients already on standard medication.
• Discussion of the FDA Breakthrough Device designation, which the company says reflects growing recognition that light-based neurostimulation may address unmet needs in Parkinson’s care.
• Opportunities for clinicians, researchers, and advocacy partners to collaborate in advancing the technology.

“Even with modern dopaminergic therapies, many people with Parkinson’s still struggle with symptoms that remain unaddressed,” said Kent Savage, CEO and co-founder of PhotoPharmics. “Our goal is to fill that gap with a non-invasive, home-use therapy targeting disease-specific pathways.”

PhotoPharmics’ Photo Neurostimulation system is designed to deliver precisely tuned light signals that interact with neurophysiological circuits implicated in Parkinson’s disease. The approach differs from general phototherapy or wearable light devices by focusing on specific neural pathways, aiming to restore circadian and dopaminergic balance.

Science Officer Dan Adams added that ongoing research is exploring the potential for photo neurostimulation to complement drug therapy rather than replace it. “We’re not trying to compete with levodopa — we’re trying to complete it,” he said.

Trial sites announced in August 2025 include California, Colorado, Delaware, Idaho, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, and Washington.

For more information, visit photopharmics.com.

PhotoPharmics is a privately held, clinical-stage medical device company, headquartered in American Fork, Utah. The company has more than three decades of research experience in specialized light therapies. Its founders have developed circadian-regulating devices for seasonal affective disorder, sleep disorders, anxiety, and depression—technology acquired by Philips-Respironics in 2007. In late 2023 the company raised $16 million led by Kickstart (Salt Lake City).