Zilucoplan: A Newly Approved Macrocyclic Peptide for Treatment of Anti-Acetylcholine Receptor Positive Myasthenia Gravis

Abstract

Zilucoplan is a synthetic macrocyclic peptide approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), in October 2023, for the treatment of generalized myasthenia gravis. It is considered as an orphan drug that causes the inhibition of terminal complement cascade activation with a dual mechanism of action preventing the formation of the membrane attack complex (MAC) and the destruction of the neuromuscular junction. This drug has been demonstrated to be able to treat the generalized myasthenia gravis without significant adverse effects, with good efficacy, safety, and tolerability profile. Zilucoplan is not only innovative and promising in the therapeutics of generalized myasthenia gravis, but it could also be beneficial for the treatment of other diseases as well as a model for synthesis of analogues to improve pharmacological profile.

Keywords

• zilucoplan
• cyclic peptide
• complement component 5 inhibitor
• generalized myasthenia gravis
• FDA approved