PARIS--6 Oct--PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ InfoQuest
- Findings from Two-Year Pivotal Phase III TEMSO Trial Published today in The New England Journal of Medicine -
Sanofi (EURONEXT: SAN and NYSE: SNY) and its subsidiary Genzyme announced today the publication of the pivotal Phase III TEMSO study with investigational once-daily oral medication teriflunomide in The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). Results showed that teriflunomide at the 14mg dosage significantly reduced the annual relapse rate, reduced disability progressions and improved several magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measures of disease activity, including new or worsening brain lesions. Teriflunomide has a well-characterized safety profile, with a similar proportion of trial participants reporting adverse events compared to placebo.
"The TEMSO data demonstrate the effect of teriflunomide in terms of reducing relapse rates, disability progression and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) lesions," said Dr. Paul O'Connor, Director of the MS Clinic at St Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Canada and principal investigator in the TEMSO study. "These results, sustained over two years, provide clinically meaningfuldata for teriflunomide."
The two-year TEMSO (TEriflunomide Multiple Sclerosis Oral) trial involved 1,088 people with relapsing forms of MS from 126 centers across 21 countries. TEMSO is the first study from a broad clinical development program that includes more than 4,000 trial participants in 36 countries and is one of the largest and broadest clinical programs of any oral MS agent under development, with five Phase III clinical trials either completed or underway.
"The publication of the teriflunomide results in the New England Journal of Medicine is an exciting milestone as we continue the development of our product," said Dr. Elias Zerhouni, President, Global Research & Development, Sanofi. "As we continue our commitment to research, innovation and the Multiple Sclerosis community, we look forward to providing therapeutic options for patients across the Multiple Sclerosis spectrum."
Teriflunomide has been filed with the FDA in August of 2011 and the EMA filing is expected in the first quarter of 2012. The results from the TEMSO study are and will be included in each regulatory submission.
TEMSO findings showed that, compared to placebo, teriflunomide once daily:
- Significantly reduced the risk of annual relapses, the primary endpoint, by 31% (both p