Novartis reports positive ankylosing spondylitis data for Cosentyx

Novartis has announced the publication of positive clinical trial data demonstrating the efficacy of Cosentyx as an ankylosing spondylitis therapy.

Data from the MEASURE 1 and MEASURE 2 phase III studies have been published in the New England Journal of Medicine, showing the significant clinical improvements associated with Cosentyx versus placebo in the signs and symptoms of active ankylosing spondylitis.

Improvements were seen as early as week one and were sustained throughout the studies, with up to 77 percent of patients achieving a positive response rate at the end of week 52.

Collectively, the studies represent the largest clinical trial programme ever conducted in ankylosing spondylitis, with a total of 590 patients enrolled.

Vasant Narasimhan, global head of development at Novartis Pharmaceuticals, said: "These two studies demonstrate the potential of Cosentyx to address this significant unmet need, and we look forward to continuing to generate longer term data on the effect of IL-17A inhibition on ankylosing spondylitis."

Cosentyx was approved in Europe for the treatment of ankylosing spondylitis and psoriatic arthritis in November.