LOS ANGELES – ALKS 8700, a novel prodrug of monomethyl fumarate, looks promising as an oral, disease-modifying treatment for relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis, according to interim findings from the phase 3 EVOLVE-MS-1 study.
The annualized relapse rate at a median follow-up of 0.93 patient-years (total, 497.1 patient-years) in 578 patients enrolled to date in the 2-year, open-label study was just 0.16, Robert T. Naismith, MD, reported during an emerging science session at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology.
Further, a statistically significant 80% reduction from baseline was seen in the number of gadolinium-enhancing lesions in 374 patients who completed a 1-year MRI assessment (from a mean of 1.5 to 0.3), said Dr. Naismith of Washington University, St. Louis.
Patients enrolled in the ongoing study are adults aged 18-65 years (mean, 41 years) with confirmed relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS), Expanded Disability Status Scale score of 6.0 or less (mean, 2.7), and no evidence of relapse within 30 days prior to starting ALKS 8700. Those with progressive forms of MS are excluded, as are patients who are pregnant or breastfeeding, patients with a history of other clinically significant conditions, and those with clinically significant abnormal laboratory tests at screening or absolute lymphocyte counts less than 0.9 x 103/mcL.
Of those enrolled so far, 72.5% received prior MS therapies, and their mean time since onset and diagnosis of MS was 9.7 and 7.6 years, respectively. The mean number of relapses in the prior year was 0.8.
ALKS 8700, also known as BIIB098, is given at a dose of 462 mg twice daily for up to 96 weeks; planned enrollment in EVOLVE-MS-1 is approximately 900 patients, Dr. Naismith said.
The preliminary findings from EVOLE-MS-1, which is limited by its single-arm, open-label design, “lend credence to ALKS 8700 as an oral treatment for patients with relapsing-remitting MS,” he said.