Strong Ph II CAPS data for Novartis' ACZ885

Swiss drug major Novartis says that new data demonstrate that ACZ885, its human monoclonal antibody in Phase III development, achieves long-lasting clinical remission in patients with cryopyrin-associated periodic syndromes, a group of rare but life-long diseases. In the Phase II study, CAPS patients on ACZ885 showed an improvement in symptoms within one day and all achieved complete clinical remission within seven days that lasted 115 days on average.

ACZ885 is also being investigated in more common inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. A study in RA currently underway uses a biomarker approach to predict response to treatment. Unlike other agents, ACZ885 blocks only interleukin 1b, one form of interleukin-1 protein that causes the body to attack itself in autoinflammatory diseases such as CAPS. Lehman Brothers analysts have given the mid-stage drug candidate a net present value of 0.23 Swiss francs per share, but this is largely due to potential sales in the much more lucrative RA indication.