EU approval of Gilenya for children and adolescents with MS

Swiss pharma giant Novartis (NOVN: VX) got a boost this morning, with an added indication for its blockbuster multiple sclerosis drug, lifting its share price by 1.18% to 89.24 Swiss francs late morning.

Novartis today announced that the European Commission has approved Gilenya (fingolimod) for the treatment of children and adolescents 10 to 17 years old with relapsing-remitting forms of multiple sclerosis (RRMS).

The European market authorization makes Gilenya the first and only oral disease-modifying treatment for children and adolescents based on clinical Phase III data. This young population living with MS have a critical need for an effective treatment option, as they experience two-to-three times as many relapses as adults, often leading to a more severe prognosis and earlier irreversible disability compared to adult-onset MS, Novartis noted.