Novartis reports long-term efficacy data for Gilenya

Novartis has announced data from two clinical trials that demonstrates the long-term efficacy of the multiple sclerosis (MS) therapy Gilenya.

A new analysis from the phase III FREEDOMS and FREEDOMS II evaluated the proportion of Gilenya patients with relapsing MS achieving no evidence of disease activity (NEDA-4) status every year over seven years.

It was shown that in the first year, 27.1 percent of Gilenya patients achieved NEDA-4, compared to 9.1 percent on placebo. Switching from placebo to Gilenya after year two doubled the proportion of patients achieving NEDA-4 in year three.

Meanwhile, of those patients on continuous Gilenya treatment, 31.2 to 44.8 percent were able to achieve NEDA-4 status between the third and seventh year of the study.

NEDA-4 is achieved when a patient has no relapses, MRI lesions, MS-related brain shrinkage and disability progression.

Vas Narasimhan, Novartis' global head of development, said: "Better understanding of the course of a person's MS through assessment of NEDA-4 can help physicians identify the optimal, effective treatment approach as early as possible for their patients."