STAT+: Novartis multiple sclerosis treatment cuts rates of relapse in pivotal trials

Andrew covers the biopharma industry, scientific research, and public health across the continent. You can reach Andrew confidentially on Signal at drewqjoseph.71.A multiple sclerosis treatment from Novartis cut by a third the rates of relapses that people with the condition have compared to a standard treatment, data presented Friday show. While that efficacy doesn’t match the performance of a rival drug from Roche, Novartis’ treatment has a cleaner safety profile that could give it a shot at being competitive in the market. In two Phase 3 studies in the relapsing form of MS, the Novartis drug, called remibrutinib, reduced the so-called annualized relapse rate by 35.2% and 31.2% when tested against Sanofi’s approved drug Aubagio. That translates into about one relapse every 13 years, Heinz Wiendl, a neurologist at the University of Freiburg, said while presenting the data from the REMODEL-1 and -2 studies at an MS conference in Toronto. In its own pivotal studies, Roche’s drug fenebrutinib cut the relapse rate by more than 50% versus Aubagio. STAT+ Exclusive Story Already have an account? Log in This article is exclusive to STAT+ subscribers Unlock this article — plus daily coverage and analysis of the biotech sector — by subscribing to STAT+. Already have an account? Log in View All Plans To read the rest of this story subscribe to STAT+. Subscribe