Mayzent approval boosts Novartis' big blockbuster plan

Leaders at Swiss pharma giant Novartis (NOVN: VX) hope that 2019 could see the launch of up to four new drugs that go on to become blockbusters, and the first of these won an approval in the USA on Tuesday.

Mayzent (siponimod) is the only treatment specifically approved for patients with active secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS), and is expected to be available in the USA within a week.

Up to 80% of patients with relapsing remitting MS (RRMS) will develop SPMS, a debilitating form of the disease characterized by progressive and irreversible neurological disability.