Hewamadduma, C., Freimer, M., Genge, A. et al. (8 more authors) (2025) Changes in corticosteroid and non-steroidal immunosuppressive therapy with long-term zilucoplan treatment in generalized myasthenia gravis. Journal of Neurology, 272 (7). 457. ISSN 0340-5354
Abstract
Background
The efficacy and safety of complement component 5 inhibitor zilucoplan in patients with anti-acetylcholine receptor antibody-positive generalized myasthenia gravis (gMG) were assessed in two double-blind studies (NCT03315130/NCT04115293 [RAISE]). During these studies and the first 12 weeks of the open-label extension study, RAISE-XT, corticosteroid and non-steroidal immunosuppressive therapy (NSIST) doses were kept stable; thereafter doses could be changed at the investigator’s discretion. We evaluated corticosteroid and NSIST dose changes in patients with gMG during zilucoplan treatment in RAISE-XT.
Methods
In RAISE-XT, patients who completed a qualifying double-blind study self-administered once-daily subcutaneous zilucoplan 0.3mg/kg. We assessed (post hoc) patients who changed their corticosteroid or NSIST dose relative to double-blind baseline at Week 120 (data cutoff: November 11, 2023).
Results
Overall, 200 patients enrolled. At Week 120, 61.1% (n = 33/54) of patients who were on corticosteroids at double-blind baseline had reduced or discontinued corticosteroids (mean 15.5mg dose reduction); mean change from baseline (CFB) in Myasthenia Gravis Activities of Daily Living (MG-ADL) score:−6.55 (standard deviation [SD] 3.65). Of patients on NSIST at double-blind baseline, 29.8% (n = 14/47) reduced or discontinued ≥ 1 NSIST; mean CFB in MG-ADL score:−7.57 (SD 4.69). Among all patients at Week 120, 9.3% (n = 8/86) had increased or started corticosteroids; 2.4% of patients (n = 2/85) had increased NSIST, including one who started a new NSIST. Zilucoplan was well tolerated.
Conclusions
Treatment with zilucoplan allowed for reduction or discontinuation of corticosteroids in the majority of patients and NSIST in about a third of patients, while maintaining efficacy.
Trial registration
NCT04225871; October 2, 2019.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
---|---|
Authors/Creators: |
|
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © The Author(s) 2025. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. |
Keywords: | Myasthenia gravis; Corticosteroid sparing; Immunosuppressive therapy; Zilucoplan |
Dates: |
|
Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health (Sheffield) > School of Medicine and Population Health |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 17 Jun 2025 08:38 |
Last Modified: | 17 Jun 2025 08:38 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Springer Science and Business Media LLC |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1007/s00415-025-13113-0 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:227899 |