Therapeutic Advances in Neurological Disorders (Apr 2024)

Long-term safety and efficacy of zilucoplan in patients with generalized myasthenia gravis: interim analysis of the RAISE-XT open-label extension study

  • James F. Howard,
  • Saskia Bresch,
  • Constantine Farmakidis,
  • Miriam Freimer,
  • Angela Genge,
  • Channa Hewamadduma,
  • John Hinton,
  • Yessar Hussain,
  • Raul Juntas-Morales,
  • Henry J. Kaminski,
  • Angelina Maniaol,
  • Renato Mantegazza,
  • Masayuki Masuda,
  • Richard J. Nowak,
  • Kumaraswamy Sivakumar,
  • Marek Śmiłowski,
  • Kimiaki Utsugisawa,
  • Tuan Vu,
  • Michael D. Weiss,
  • Małgorzata Zajda,
  • Jos Bloemers,
  • Babak Boroojerdi,
  • Melissa Brock,
  • Guillemette de la Borderie,
  • Petra W. Duda,
  • Mark Vanderkelen,
  • M. Isabel Leite,

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1177/17562864241243186
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 17

Abstract

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Background: Generalized myasthenia gravis (gMG) is a chronic, unpredictable disease associated with high treatment and disease burdens, with a need for more effective and well-tolerated treatments. Objectives: To evaluate the long-term safety, tolerability, and efficacy of zilucoplan in a mild-to-severe, acetylcholine receptor autoantibody-positive (AChR+) gMG population. Design: Ongoing, multicenter, phase III open-label extension (OLE) study. Methods: Eligible patients had completed a qualifying randomized, placebo-controlled phase II or phase III zilucoplan study and received daily, self-administered subcutaneous 0.3 mg/kg zilucoplan. The primary endpoint was incidence of treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs). Secondary efficacy endpoints included change from baseline in Myasthenia Gravis Activities of Daily Living (MG-ADL) score. Results: In total, 200 patients enrolled. At the cut-off date (8 September 2022), median (range) exposure to zilucoplan in RAISE-XT was 1.2 (0.11–4.45) years. Mean age at OLE baseline was 53.3 years. A total of 188 (94%) patients experienced a TEAE, with the most common being MG worsening ( n = 52, 26%) and COVID-19 ( n = 49, 25%). In patients who received zilucoplan 0.3 mg/kg in the parent study, further improvements in MG-ADL score continued through to Week 24 (least squares mean change [95% confidence interval] from double-blind baseline −6.06 [−7.09, −5.03]) and were sustained through to Week 60 (−6.04 [−7.21, −4.87]). In patients who switched from placebo in the parent study, rapid improvements in MG-ADL score were observed at the first week after switching to zilucoplan; further improvements were observed at Week 24, 12 weeks after switching (−6.46 [−8.19, −4.72]), and were sustained through to Week 60 (−6.51 [−8.37, −4.65]). Consistent results were observed in other efficacy endpoints. Conclusion: Zilucoplan demonstrated a favorable long-term safety profile, good tolerability, and sustained efficacy through to Week 60 with consistent benefits in a broad AChR+ gMG population. Additional long-term data will be available in future analyses. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT04225871 ( https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04225871 )