Novartis' oral multiple sclerosis drug meets main goal in late stage studies

Swiss drugmaker ‌Novartis said on ​Tuesday that its oral drug, remibrutinib, met the main goals in two ‌late-stage studies, showing superiority over a rival drug in reducing relapse rates in patients with a form of multiple sclerosis.

Investors have ‌been on the lookout for data from three experimental ‌drugs - pelacarsen, multiple sclerosis drug remibrutinib and genetic therapy del-desiran - which together represent more than $10 billion in peak annual sales potential and are ⁠drivers of ​Novartis' long-term ⁠growth. The two late-stage trials, named REMODEL-1 and REMODEL-2, compared the safety ⁠and effectiveness of remibrutinib against an existing treatment, teriflunomide, in adult ​patients.

Teriflunomide is sold under the brand name Aubagio ⁠by French drugmaker Sanofi. In the studies, remibrutinib showed clinically meaningful results in slowing ⁠down ​disability progression compared to teriflunomide. Novartis said remibrutinib was well-tolerated and showed no liver safety issues, consistent with ⁠previous trials.

The company plans to seek global regulatory approval ⁠for the drug ⁠and will present the full trial data at an upcoming medical conference in Toronto.