The 2022 American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Annual Meeting kicked off on Saturday and will continue on through Thursday.
The 2022 American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Annual Meeting kicked off on Saturday and will continue on through Thursday. Hundreds of presentations from researchers, biopharma and other industry professionals showcase promising new treatments and revelations in the field of neurology. Read on for highlights from the ongoing event.
AbbVie’s Atogepant Cuts Migraine Days in Half
AbbVie is presenting 30 abstracts at the meeting covering a broad range of diseases including migraine, advanced Parkinson’s disease, spasticity and cervical dystonia. Of note, the company shared an updated analysis from its newest migraine medication atogepant (Qulipta) and new data on using onabotulinumtoxinA (Botox) for the treatment of spasticity.
In an abstract presented on Saturday, AbbVie shared data from a 52-week analysis of a 60mg once-daily treatment of atogepant in people with episodic migraine. Atogepant was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in September 2021, and the latest analysis from AbbVie shows that the therapeutic is effective as a long-term, preventative treatment for the condition as 84% of trial participants experienced a 50% or greater reduction in monthly migraine days.
AbbVie also presented data from a study investigating the use of onabotulinumtoxinA in the treatment of spasticity, a condition denoted by abnormal muscle tightness due to prolonged contraction. The company presented data evaluating the impact of the treatment on healthcare resource utilization and costs among patients with stroke-related spasticity and found that resource utilization and costs significantly decreased in the 12 months following treatment. Utilizing the toxin therapy may help to alleviate economic burdens associated with the condition.
Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Reveals New Radicava Data
On Saturday, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma presented a real-world analysis of overall survival in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) treated with edaravone (radicava). The results highlighted that continued intravenous treatment with edaravone was associated with improved overall survival in comparison to patients that did not receive the treatment. Risk of death was 27% lower among those who received treatment.
In addition to presenting research on IV treatment utilizing edaravone, Mitsubishi also presented two abstracts relating to its oral edaravone development program. In Phase III clinical trial results, oral edaravone was proven to be safe and tolerable long-term in patients with ALS. Currently, 185 patients are enrolled in the trial that is still ongoing.
TG Therapeutics Highlights Robust Results in M.S.
TG Therapeutics arrived at the annual meeting with three presentations relating to its ULTIMATE I & II Phase III trials evaluating ublituximab in patients with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (RMS). All three presentations demonstrated positive results for the therapeutic.
Treatment with ublituximab was associated with a significant proportion of patients achieving no evidence of disease activity at the end of the 96-week clinical trial. In addition to being effective at reducing disease activity in patients, ublituximab was effective at improving disability status in patients, denoting an improvement in quality of life.
TG also presented data relating to infusion-related reactions with the therapeutic showing that 43% of patients experienced a reaction, which was the prevailing adverse event during treatment. The reactions were mild to moderate in severity.
Early Signals Indicate Potential of Sage’s Alzhiemer’s Drug
Sage Therapeutics presented data from its LUMINARY study evaluating SAGE-718, a modulator of the NMDA receptor, in the treatment of mild cognitive impairment and mild dementia due to Alzheimer’s Disease.
The LUMINARY study evaluated the use of SAGE-718 in 26 patients who received the treatment daily for two weeks. Participants took cognitive assessments before and after treatment. After two weeks, improvements from baseline were observed in a number of cognitive assessments including executive functioning, learning and memory. The therapeutic was also well-tolerated with only mild to moderate adverse events being reported. Sage intends to continue to advance its SAGE-718 program with ongoing and planned Phase II Studies.
Neurelis Nasal Spay Decreases Seizure Anxiety
Neurelis is slated to present three abstracts at the meeting regarding its completed safety study of Valtoco for the treatment of episodes of frequent seizure activity in patients with epilepsy.
Valtoco is a nasal spray intended as an acute treatment for episodes of seizure activity. The presentations highlight that the therapeutic is extremely easy to use and in a patient-reported questionnaire, patients noted decreased worries about seizures and improvements in social functioning scores after treatment with the nasal spray. Overall, in the 12-month Phase III study of Valtoco, 163 patients were dosed with the nasal spray, with an accumulative 3,853 seizures being treated.
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