FRANKFURT, Sept 20 (Askume) – Sanofi (SASY.PA) said on Friday its multiple sclerosis drug slows disease progression by 31%, and the French drugmaker hopes the drug is under development and is being considered for approval by the end of this year.
Late-stage trials of tobrutinib were successful, the company said in a brief summary earlier this month . That softened the blow of the announcement, which came at the same time that trials for a more common inoperable form of the disease failed.
Sanofi is seeking opportunities in multiple sclerosis, a debilitating neurological disease, to offset revenue losses from the expiry of patent protection on its multiple sclerosis drug Aubagio, a leading anti-inflammatory drug.
Chief Executive Paul Hudson has made progress in restoring investor confidence in the drug pipeline despite unexpectedly abandoning a 2025 profit target in October to increase spending on drug development .
Tolbrucindib, which came from its $3.7 billion acquisition of Principia in 2020, belongs to a class of compounds called tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitors from Bruton, which was also acquired by Novartis (ROG.S) and Roche(NOVNS.S)
These drugs are designed to selectively block the harmful autoimmune responses underlying multiple sclerosis, providing a more targeted approach than standard immunosuppressants.
However, investors are concerned about the revenue prospects of BTK inhibitors because they may be linked to liver damage and their efficacy is uncertain.
Sanofi said continuous monitoring during the trial reduced the incidence of serious liver problems.
