Novartis reports positive ankylosing spondylitis drug trial data

Novartis has announced one-year study results from the MEASURE 2 phase III study showing the efficacy of secukinumab in the treatment of ankylosing spondylitis.

Data from the trial to be presented at the European League Against Rheumatism's annual congress demonstrated that approximately 74 per cent of patients treated with the drug achieved clinically significant improvement in their symptoms after one year of treatment.

This makes it a potentially promising new therapeutic approach for this disease, for which there are few treatments currently available, with 40 percent of patients having poor or no response to the current standard of care.

It is the first biologic therapy other than anti-TNFs to demonstrate efficacy in ankylosing spondylitis phase III studies, as well as being the first biologic to demonstrate efficacy in patients with inadequate response or intolerance to anti-TNFs.

Vasant Narasimhan, global head of development for Novartis Pharmaceuticals, said: "We are pleased to present important data from MEASURE 2 showing that secukinumab's efficacy in treating this serious inflammatory disease is sustained through one year."

The drug is currently approved in Europe for the treatment of moderate to severe plaque psoriasis.