Teva enthusiastic about oral laquinimod for multiple sclerosis on strong Ph III results

Two more contenders for a share of the oral multiple sclerosis market, Israel’s Eva Pharmaceutical Industries (Nasdaq: TEVA) and Swedish partner Active Biotech (NORDIC: ACTI) have announced positive results from the two-year Phase III ALLEGRO study of laquinimod, an oral, once-daily, investigational immunomodulator for the treatment of relapsing forms of MS.

In the ALLEGRO study, laquinimod showed a statistically significant 23% reduction in annualized relapse rate (p=0.0024), the primary endpoint, along with a significant 36% reduction in the risk of confirmed disability progression, as measured by Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) (p=0.0122). Treatment with laquinimod was also associated with a significant reduction in brain tissue loss, as measured by a 33 percent reduction in progression of brain atrophy (p<0.0001).

“The ALLEGRO study results are exciting, as they suggest that oral laquinimod is a novel therapeutic option that safely slows MS disease activity and progression," said principal investigator, Professor Giancarlo Comi, Director of the Department of Neurology and Institute of Experimental Neurology at the University Vite Salute, San Raffaele, Italy. "Additional preclinical data...suggest that oral laquinimod exerts a novel and protective mechanism of action within the central nervous system to significantly reduce the main neurological damage of the disease," Prof Comi added.