Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd. (TEVA, TEVA.TV) and Active
Biotech (ACTI.SK) said their experimental multiple-sclerosis pill
laquinimod reduced relapse rate in a late-stage study.
Teva's American Depositary Shares were up 2.7% premarket. They
had fallen 12% this year through Wednesday after climbing one-third
in 2009.
The results, initial readings from the drug companies' two-year
Allegro study, follow the U.S. approval in September of Novartis
AG's (NVS, NOVN.VX) Gilenya, the first oral therapy for the
disease. Previously, all multiple-sclerosis treatments were
injected or given intravenously.
Teva and Active Biotech's trial enrolled 1,106 patients in 24
countries. Patients received either a once-daily oral dose or a
placebo. In addition to succeeding in its primary goal, reducing
relapses, the drug was also shown to achieve secondary endpoints
such as reducing disability progression.
Laquinimod was found safe and well-tolerated, with the frequency
of adverse events comparable to those receiving placebo.
Multiple sclerosis, the leading cause of neurological disability
in young adults, is a progressive disease of the central nervous
system affecting the brain, spinal cord and optic nerves.
-By Matt Jarzemsky, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2240;
matthew.jarzemsky@dowjones.com