Laquinimod is an experimental
immunomodulator
Immunotherapy or biological therapy is the treatment of disease by activating or suppressing the immune system. Immunotherapies designed to elicit or amplify an immune response are classified as ''activation immunotherapies,'' while immunotherap ...
developed by Active Biotech and
Teva. It is being investigated as an oral treatment for
multiple sclerosis
Multiple (cerebral) sclerosis (MS), also known as encephalomyelitis disseminata or disseminated sclerosis, is the most common demyelinating disease, in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged. This d ...
(MS).
Laquinimod is the successor of Active Biotech's failed experimental immunomodulator
linomide.
The compound has been investigated in two Phase II trials using successive
magnetic resonance scans (MRI). Laquinimod seems to be able to reduce the MS disease activity on MRI.
However, the response to a given dose was discrepant between both studies.
Phase III studies for MS started in December 2007. In 2011, Teva announced its clinical trials involving laquinimod had failed, being unable to significantly reduce relapses in MS among patients beyond a placebo. However, the final results of above-mentioned phase III trial proved oral laquinimod administered once daily slowed the progression of disability and reduced the rate of relapse in patients with relapsing–remitting multiple sclerosis.
On May 7, 2013 laquinimod was approved by the Russian
Ministry of Health (the
FDA
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food s ...
analog) as a treatment for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) under the brand name Nerventra.
See also
*
Management of multiple sclerosis
References
External links
Entries in NIH Study Registry
Immunosuppressants
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