Laquinimod

Parent company: Teva Neuroscience, Inc. and Active Biotech

• Oral medication taken daily.


• Laquinimod is being studied in RRMS. It is an immunomodulator, and may have other mechanisms of action.


• A Phase II, 36-week trial showed a 40-percent reduction in disease activity as measured by MRI, a trend toward reduction in annual relapse rates, and a delay in the time to first relapse; the drug was well tolerated. A continuation of this study is ongoing, and is assessing the safety, tolerability, and efficacy of two doses of laquinimod in subjects with RRMS followed by an open label phase of laquinimod 0.6 mg daily. Preliminary data suggest that the drug reduces disease activity on MRI and has good tolerability.


• The ongoing BRAVO study is comparing laquinimod to Avonex. Outcome measures are relapse rate, the accumulation of disability, and disease activity on MRI.


• The ongoing placebo-controlled ALLEGRO study will determine the efficacy of daily oral treatment with laquinimod in RRMS. Its outcome measures include the number of confirmed relapses, the accumulation of physical disability, and MRI changes during the two-year study period.