Viela Bio Announces U.S. FDA Approval of UPLIZNA (inebilizumab-cdon) for the Treatment of Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder (NMOSD)

UPLIZNA is the first and only B cell depleter approved for the treatment of NMOSD in adults who are anti-aquaporin-4 (AQP4) antibody positive

GAITHERSBURG, Md., June 11, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Viela Bio (Nasdaq:VIE) today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved UPLIZNA^TM (inebilizumab-cdon) for the treatment of adult patients with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) who are anti-AQP4 antibody positive as a twice-a-year maintenance regimen following initial doses. Approximately 80%¹ of all patients with NMOSD test positive for anti-AQP4 antibodies.

“NMOSD is an extremely challenging disease to treat. Patients experience unpredictable attacks that can lead to permanent disability from blindness and paralysis. In addition, each subsequent attack may result in a cumulative worsening of disability. In the pivotal N-MOmentum trial, UPLIZNA^TM—a humanized CD19-directed monoclonal antibody—significantly reduced the risk of attacks and also reduced hospitalizations when given as a monotherapy,” said Bruce Cree, M.D., Ph.D., MAS, the lead investigator for the N-MOmentum trial and Professor of Clinical Neurology at the University of California San Francisco Weill Institute for Neurosciences. “UPLIZNA^TM is an important new treatment option that provides prescribing physicians and patients living with NMOSD a therapy with proven efficacy, a favorable safety profile and a twice-a-year maintenance dosing schedule.”

NMOSD is a rare, severe, neuroinflammatory autoimmune disease that attacks the optic nerve, spinal cord and brain stem. In addition to potentially irreversible blindness and paralysis, patients may also experience loss of sensation, bladder and bowel dysfunction, nerve pain and respiratory failure. It is estimated that there are approximately 10,000 people in the U.S. suffering from NMOSD². Multiple lines of evidence suggest that NMOSD is a B-cell-mediated disorder.

“As an organization that understands and represents the struggle of patients and their loved ones affected by NMOSD, we are pleased that now there is another treatment option that could reduce their attacks, which can lead to devastating and irreversible disability,” said Victoria Jackson, co-founder of the Guthy-Jackson Charitable Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to funding research and raising awareness about NMOSD. “We have been proud to partner with Viela Bio and congratulate them and the NMOSD community on this important milestone.”