B-Cell Depletion and Long-Term Outcomes in NMOSD With Inebilizumab: Jeffrey Bennett, MD, PhD

WATCH TIME: 2 minutes

"The data shows that the early behavior of B-cell depletion in patients with NMOSD was similar to what was observed in the long-term throughout the study. This depletion could be related to clinical metrics of disease activity, as well as MRI metrics of disease activity.”

At the 37th Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS), October 13-15, new data were presented from the N-MOmentum trial (NCT), the study that led to the approval of inebiluzumab (Uplizna; Horizon Therapeutics). To date, inebilizumab remains the only FDA-approved anti-CD19 B-cell depleting humanized monoclonal antibody for the treatment of patients with anti-aquaporin-4 (AQP4) antibody positive neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD).

At the end of the 28-week randomized, placebo-controlled period of the trial, all participants saw significant treatment effect, and those whose B-cell counts were less than 4 cells/µL had reduced rates of annualized relapse rate (ARR; rate ratio, 0.4) and new/enlarging lesions (0.36) than those with B-cell counts greater than 4 cells/µL.

In a conversation with NeurologyLive®,study author Jeffrey Bennett, MD, PhD, professor of neurology, University of Colorado, discussed the clinical significance of the data, including the take-home messages clinicians should understand.

REFERENCE

New data reinforce the relationship between B-cell depletion and improved outcomes in people receiving UPLIZNA (inebilizumab) for neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD). News release. Horizon Therapeutics. October 13, 2021. Accessed October 21, 2021. https://ir.horizontherapeutics.com/news-releases/news-release-details/new-data-reinforce-relationship-between-b-cell-depletion-and