Novartis seeks leadership with Cosentyx showing no radiographic progression in ankylosing spondylitis at 4 years

For the first time for any biologic, data show almost 80 percent of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients on Cosentyx have no radiographic progression of the spine at 4 years. These new data also confirm sustained improvement in signs and symptoms in almost 80 percent of patients, with a favorable and consistent safety profile Cosentyx, the only IL-17A inhibitor approved for AS, is a fully human, highly targeted biologic for first-line use in this chronic inflammatory disease that can lead to mobility loss - The digital press release with multimedia content can be accessed here: Novartis announced today new long-term Cosentyx (secukinumab) data for patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) . This study is unique as these data show, for the first time with any biologic, that almost 80 percent of AS patients treated with Cosentyx have no radiographic progression (mSASSS <2) of the spine at 4 years. The new data also confirm sustained improvement in signs and symptoms in almost 80 percent of patients, while Cosentyx delivers a favorable and consistent safety profile. The new data will be presented as a late-breaker during the 2017 American College of Rheumatology/Association of Rheumatology Health Professionals (ACR/ARHP) Annual Meeting in San Diego, United States. "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. This is very important as ankylosing spondylitis is a crippling condition that can impact people in their twenties when they still have many decades of their life ahead of them," said Vas Narasimhan, Global Head, Drug Development and Chief Medical Officer, Novartis.