Novartis' long-term data for Cosentyx, a treatment for patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS), show positive outcomes, including improvement of symptoms in 80 percent of patients.
"The key finding of these data is that patients treated with Cosentyx may now have the opportunity to maintain their mobility for a longer time,” Vas Narasimhan, global head of drug development and chief medical officer at Novartis, said in a press release.
According to Narasimhan, the findings are important because of the crippling nature of AS, which can even affect people in their 20s who have many years of life ahead of them.
"For the first time for any biologic, Cosentyx shows that almost 80 percent of patients had no radiographic progression for as long as 4 years. These data demonstrate the potential of Cosentyx to help patients live with less pain and retain their mobility for longer," Narasimhan said.
Ankylosing spondylitis is an inflammatory disease that impairs movement in the spine, according to the release.
