Overviewing Phase 2 Data of Imlifidase in Guillain-Barré Syndrome: Elisabeth Sonesson, PhD

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"We were encouraged to see such fast functional recovery—patients improved within days and were back to walking significantly earlier than those treated with IVIG alone."

For years, the standard of care for patients with Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) has been plasma exchange (PE) and intravenous immunoglobulin therapy (IVIg). PE involves removing plasma from the blood, filtering out harmful antibodies, and returning the remaining blood to the body. IVIg includes administration of healthy antibodies from blood donors to counteract the damaging antibodies. While both have been considered effective, many in the field have begun evaluated new novel therapeutics, several of which were on display at the recently concluded Peripheral Nerve Society (PNS) Annual Meeting, held May 17-20, in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Imlifidase (Hansa Biopharma), a therapy approved in the European Union for desensitizing kidney transplant patients, is among those being tested in notable trials for GBS. The agent, an enzyme derived from Streptococcus pyogenes that cleaves all subclasses of human IgG antibodies, was tested in a single-arm, phase 2 study (NCT03943589) comprising 27 individuals with confirmed severe GBS. In the study, patients received the investigational treatment in intravenous doses of 0.25 mg/kg within 12 days of symptom onset followed by IVIg (0.4 mg/kg/day for 5 days) 48 hours after imlifidase.

All told, the results presented at PNS 2025 further demonstrated the efficacy and safety of imlifidase as a potential treatment for GBS. To gain greater insights on the data, NeurologyLive^® sat down with Elisabeth Sonesson, PhD, VP, Franchise Lead, Autoimmune at Hansa Biopharma. In the interview, Sonesson provided context on the key takeaways from the trial, the promising safety profile of the agent, and the notable improvements patients experienced throughout the study. Above all, she discussed how the findings support the potential of imlifidase as a fast-acting and safe treatment alternative for GBS.

Click here for more PNS 2025 coverage.

REFERENCE
1. Attarian S, Magy L, Echaniz-Laguna A, et al. Outcomes in Patients with Severe Guillain-Barré Syndrome Treated with Imlifidase and Standardof-Care Immunoglobulin. Presented at: 2025 PNS Annual Meeting; May 17-20; Edinburgh, Scotland. Abstract O582.