This year’s American Academy of Neurology meeting in Los Angeles has revealed positive news that can benefit patients across a wide variety of indications.
This year’s American Academy of Neurology meeting in Los Angeles has revealed positive news that can benefit patients across a wide variety of indications.
Today Eli Lilly will be presenting new data that shows galcanezumab reduces monthly migraine headache days in patients who have previously failed to respond to multiple therapies. Lilly’s galcanezumab, a self-injected treatment, is under review from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the prevention of migraine in adults. The FDA is expected to rule on the medication in the third quarter. At AAN Christi Shaw, president of Lilly Bio-Medicines, said that despite available options, research has shown nearly 50 percent of migraine patients discontinue a newly-prescribed preventive therapy within 60 days, often due to side effects or lack of efficacy.
Lilly presented data that showed galcanezumab generated a significant reduction in the average number of monthly migraine headache days in the patient population. Depending on dosing levels Lilly said its medication cut the average number of monthly migraine days by 3.45 days for 120 mg and 3.85 days for 240 mg. That was in comparison to .81 days for placebo. Galcanezumab, a non-opioid pain treatment, is also being evaluated as a therapy for cluster headache in a Phase III trial. Results from that trial are expected in the second quarter.
Not to be outdone in the migraine area, Washington-based Alder BioPharmaceuticals will also present data today at AAN. The company will showcase late-stage data that demonstrates its injectable CGRP inhibitor Eptinezumab provided further reductions in migraine following third and fourth infusions in patients with episodic migraine headaches. Data shows that patients dosed with 100 mg and 300 mg of Eptinezumab experienced even further reductions in migraine following the third and fourth quarterly infusions, the company said. Rival drugmaker Teva Pharmaceuticals is expecting the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to rule on its CGRP migraine treatment fremanezumab by the end of June. The FDA accepted that company’s Biologics License Application on Dec. 15.
Cambridge, Mass.-based Biogen released new AAN data Monday that showed its spinal muscular atrophy treatment Spinraza improved motor function and increased survival in infants who are most seriously affected by the disease. Biogen said its data analysis showed that treatment with Spinraza, whether done early or late, was able to improve motor function and increased event-free survival time. Biogen said that additional findings show that later-onset SMA patients treated with Spinraza walked longer distances while experiencing stable or less fatigue over time. Those results are in contrast to SMA natural history, the company said. Alfred Sandrock, Biogen’s chief medical officer, said the results presented at AAN reinforce Spinraza’s “unprecedented and compelling efficacy across a broad range of SMA populations, enabling patients to improve mobility and motor function.” Sandrock added that the drug also increases survival for those most seriously affected by the disease.
On Monday Genentech released data that showed that Ocrevus, a monoclonal antibody designed to target CD20-positive B cells, slowed disability progression in MS and supported the approach of early disease treatment in relapsing multiple sclerosis (RMS). Additional analyses show Ocrevus delayed cognitive decline and improved cognitive function in RMS, as measured by Symbol Digit Modalities Test.
