Commentary
Video
A More Selective Immune Approach to CIDP With Riliprubart: Claudia Sommer, MD
Author(s):
The president-elect of the Peripheral Nerve Society provided clinical context the mechanism and clinical relevance of riliprubart, a targeted complement inhibitor in development for chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy. [WATCH TIME: 3 minutes]
WATCH TIME: 3 minutes
"It’s a very logical mechanism—and now, seeing that it works in patients, that’s what truly matters in CIDP care."
Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP), an autoimmune condition that affects the myelin sheath around peripheral nerves, has been typically treated through corticosteroids, plasma exchange, and intravenous immunoglobulin therapy (IVIg). The disorder, which cause muscle weakness and abnormal sensations, is treatable; however, patients may experience relapse, which requires additional follow-up and management. CIDP is closely related to Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), and many healthcare providers consider CIDP to be the long-term form of GBS.
The 2025 Peripheral Nerve Society (PNS) Annual Meeting, held May 17-20, in Edinburgh, Scotland, stands as the biggest global gathering focused on peripheral nerve biology and medicine. Several new therapeutics were introduced at the meeting, including data on Sanofi’s riliprubart, a monoclonal antibody that targets complement component C1s, a key enzyme in the classical complement pathway. In the latest phase 2 study (NCT04658472), treatment with the agent led to reductions in neurofilament light (NfL) levels, a biomarker of neuroaxonal damage, over a 24-week open-label period. More notably, these reductions correlated with higher treatment response rates, as measured by Inflammatory Neuropathy Cause and Treatment (INCAT) Disability score.
During the event, NeurologyLive® sat down with Claudia Sommer, MD, president-elect of PNS, to discuss the mechanism and promise of riliprubart amid an evolving CIDP treatment landscape. Sommer, who serves as a professor of neurology at the University Hospital of Wurzburg, Germany, spoke on the scientific rationale behind the therapeutic, noting that the targeted actions prevents downstream immune responses such as T and B cell activation, among other promising effects. Above all, she discussed how riliprubart’s precision-based approach distinguishes itself from prior immune-targeted therapies and reflects a broader trend toward mechanism-specific strategies in the evolving CIDP treatment landscape.
Click here for more PNS 2025 coverage.
