Novartis' oral multiple sclerosis drug meets main goal in late stage studies

LONDON, Sept. 1 (Reuters) - Swiss drugmaker Novartis said on Tuesday that its oral drug, remibrutinib, met the main goals in two late-stage studies, showing superiority over a rival drug in reducing relapse rates in patients with a form of multiple sclerosis.

Investors have been on the lookout for data from three experimental drugs - pelacarsen, multiple sclerosis drug remibrutinib and genetic therapy del-desiran - which together represent more than $10 billion in peak annual sales potential and are drivers of Novartis' long-term growth.

The two late-stage trials, named REMODEL-1 and REMODEL-2, compared the safety and effectiveness of remibrutinib against an existing treatment, teriflunomide, in adult patients.

Teriflunomide is sold under the brand name Aubagio by French drugmaker Sanofi.

In the studies, remibrutinib showed clinically meaningful results in slowing down disability progression compared to teriflunomide. Novartis said remibrutinib was well-tolerated and showed no liver safety issues, consistent with previous trials.

The company plans to seek global regulatory approval for the drug and will present the full trial data at an upcoming medical conference in Toronto.