Novartis’ Mayzent delays time wheelchair dependence by 4 years in secondary progressive multiple sclerosis
pharmafile | September 12, 2019 | News story | Research and Development | ECTRIMS 2019, Mayzent, Novartis, multiple sclerosis, pharma
Novartis has taken the opportunity at the 2019 Congress of The European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS) in Stockholm to reveal new data for Mayzent (siponimod) in the treatment of secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS).
New analyses, based on a “survival analysis and multistate model”, illustrated that use of Mayzent delayed median time until an SPMS patient becomes dependent on a wheelchair, measured by a score of 7 on the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS), by an average of 4.3 years. This ultimately means that the total time until wheelchair dependence is extended from 12 to 16.3 years.
In patients with a baseline EDSS score of 6.5, 19.8% of patients treated with Mayzent progressed to EDSS 7, compared to 26.1% treated with placebo.
Additionally, the drug “significantly reduced” the loss of cortical grey matter and thalamic volume at one and two years.
“Our purpose at Novartis is to deliver treatments that can make a real difference to people’s lives.These latest data support siponimod’s place as an effective therapy for some of the estimated 38,000 people in the UK living with SPMS,” said Dr Mark Toms, Chief Scientific Officer at Novartis UK. “There are currently no licensed oral disease modifying SPMS therapies available, and so we are working very closely with the regulatory bodies with the aim of making siponimod available in the UK as quickly as possible.”
MS is characterised by the targeting of the central nervous system by the body’s white blood cells, damaging the myelin coating nerves, impeding their ability to transmit signals effectively. In a separate pre-clinical study presented by Novartis investigating the use of Mayzent in tadpoles, acceleration of remyelination was doubled.
Matt Fellows
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