Novartis ligelizumab (QGE031) more effective than Xolair at inhibiting immunoglobulin E pathway responsible for chronic spontaneous urticaria

Patients & Caregivers Healthcare Professionals Society & ESG - Data show ligelizumab binds to immunoglobulin E (IgE), a key driver of chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU), with significantly higher affinity than current standard of care Xolair (omalizumab)¹ -   The study published suggests ligelizumab has the potential to be more effective than Xolair in treating CSU -   Earlier Phase IIb study results show more patients are completely symptom-free from CSU with ligelizumab than Xolair² -   CSU is a distressing and unpredictable skin condition with many patients having uncontrolled symptoms³              - Basel, January 09, 2020 - Novartis, a leader in immuno-dermatology, announced mechanistic study results showing ligelizumab is more effective at inhibiting the major pathogenic IgE/Fc'RI pathway in chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU), than current therapy Xolair (omalizumab)¹. Ligelizumab can bind to IgE with an 88-fold higher affinity than Xolair¹. The data show ligelizumab and Xolair recognize and bind differently to IgE, with ligelizumab resulting in a significantly enhanced blockade of IgE/Fc'RI signaling. "This mechanistic research study is a great step forward in understanding how different anti-IgE treatments can have qualitatively and functionally distinct inhibition profiles", said one of the investigators of the study, PD Dr. Alexander Eggel, University of Bern, Switzerland.