Horizon Therapeutics Plc Announces New UPLIZNA Data In Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder To Be presented At ECTRIMS 2023

Author: Benzinga Newsdesk | October 02, 2023 08:14am

-- Presentations will feature data from the pivotal Phase 3 study of UPLIZNA, including new biomarker analyses --

Horizon Therapeutics plc (NASDAQ:HZNP) today announced that new UPLIZNA analyses will be presented at the 39th Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS) 2023, Oct. 11-13. UPLIZNA is the first and only targeted CD19+ B-cell-depleting therapy approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the European Commission and the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency (ANVISA) for the treatment of NMOSD in adults who are anti-aquaporin-4 immunoglobulin G seropositive (AQP4-IgG+).

Presentation Details:

• P015: Association of Cytokine Proteins with Disease Activity in NMOSD Participants Receiving Inebilizumab Treatment (S. Pittock)
  • Poster Session: Clinical aspects of MS - NMOSD
  • Date: Oct. 11, 2023, 8-8:30 a.m. CEST
• P409: Long-Term Comparative Efficacy of Inebilizumab in the AQP4+ Subpopulation from the N-MOmentum Open-Label Extension Versus Azathioprine and Immunosuppressive Therapies and Versus Placebo in Patients with NMOSD (B. Cree)
  • Poster Session: Clinical aspects of MS - NMOSD
  • Date: Oct. 11, 2023, 8-8:30 a.m. CEST
• P011: Matching-Adjusted Indirect Comparison of Current Treatments for NMOSD and Evaluation of Long-Term Effectiveness (F. Paul)
  • Poster Session: Clinical aspects of MS - NMOSD
  • Date: Oct. 11, 2023, 8-8:30 a.m. CEST

Horizon will host a symposium Thursday, Oct. 12 from 8:45 to 9:45 a.m. CEST, "Looking for unrecognized disease activity in NMOSD to optimize treatment choice and prevent disability," chaired by Massimo Filippi, M.D., Ph.D., featuring presentations from Maria Rocca, M.D., Orhan Aktas, M.D. and Jeffrey Bennett, M.D., Ph.D.

About Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder (NMOSD)

NMOSD is a unifying term for neuromyelitis optica (NMO) and related syndromes. NMOSD is a rare, severe, relapsing, neuroinflammatory autoimmune disease that attacks the optic nerve, spinal cord, brain and brain stem.1,2 Approximately 80% of all patients with NMOSD test positive for anti-AQP4 antibodies.3 AQP4-IgG binds primarily to astrocytes in the central nervous system and triggers an escalating immune response that results in lesion formation and astrocyte death.4

Anti-AQP4 autoantibodies are produced by plasmablasts and some plasma cells. These B-cell populations are central to NMOSD disease pathogenesis, and a large proportion of these cells express CD19.5 Depletion of these CD19+ B-cells is thought to remove an important contributor to inflammation, lesion formation and astrocyte damage. Clinically, this damage presents as an NMOSD attack, which can involve the optic nerve, spinal cord and brain.4,6 Loss of vision, paralysis, loss of sensation, bladder and bowel dysfunction, nerve pain and respiratory failure can all be manifestations of the disease.7 Each NMOSD attack can lead to further cumulative damage and disability.8,9 NMOSD occurs more commonly in women and may be more common in individuals of African and Asian descent.10,11

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