The FINANCIAL — Novartis' Gilenya was effective against all four key measures of disease activity in multiple sclerosis – brain volume loss, lesion activity, relapse rates and disability progression.
Improvements were seen in patients who switched from standard interferon treatment to Gilenya within 12 months of the switch and up to the end of the 4.5 year extension study, according to Novartis AG, which provides innovative healthcare solutions that address the evolving needs of patients and societies.
"Data have consistently shown that treatment with Gilenya leads to more patients staying disease free, compared to standard interferon treatment." said Dr. Timothy Wright, Global Head Development, Novartis Pharmaceuticals. "MS is a chronic neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative illness where disease activity leads to accumulation of disability and loss of brain tissue. These new findings demonstrate the effect of Gilenya on these key disease measures, both in the early years and in the longer-term," he added.
Gilenya increased the proportion of patients who were disease-free by almost 50% upon switch from interferon to Gilenya in year-1 to year-2. Patients who had disease-activity at the end of the first year were significantly less likely to remain clinically disease free during the following 3.5 years of the extension study.
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