Mechanism of Action of Nipocalimab in Myasthenia Gravis: Jeffrey Guptill, MD, MS, MHS

"The potential advantage of nipocalimab and other similar drugs within this class is that it’s quite targeted. It’s directed against the pathogenic antibodies that attack the muscle in the disease.”

At the 2021 American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Annual Meeting, April 17-22, data from the phase 2, double-blind, placebo-controlled, Vivacity-MG study (NCT03772587) showed that treatment with nipocalimab (Janssen Pharmaceuticals) is safe, well-tolerated, and efficacious in patients with generalized myasthenia gravis (gMG). The investigational treatment achieved substantial and rapid reductions in serum total immunoglobulin (IgG) and anti-AChR IgG autoantibodies which were significantly correlated with Myasthenia Gravis Activities of Daily Living (MG-ADL) scores.

The treatment is a fully human, aglycosylated, effectorless IgG anti-FcRN antibody that functions to reduce the levels of other IgG antibodies in the blood, including the autoantibodies that cause gMG. Lead investigator Jeffrey Guptill, MD, MS, MHS, notes that nipocalimab’s mechanism of action is much like therapeutic plasma exchange, which is a common treatment for patients with gMG.

Guptill, an associate professor of neurology at neurologist at Duke University, sat down with NeurologyLive to talk about the current treatment landscape for patients with gMG and what nipocalimab can offer to the market.

For more coverage of AAN 2021, click here.

REFERENCE

Guptill J, Antozzi C, Bril V, et al. Vivacity-MG: a phase 2, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, study to evaluate the safety, tolerability, efficacy, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and immunogenicity of nipocalimab administered to adults with generalized myasthenia gravis. Presented at 2021 American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting; April 17-22. Abstract S29.002