ACZ 885 positive in Phase III Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis trial

ACZ 885 (canakinumab) from Novartis results are reported of a Phase III trial in patients with systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (SJIA), a rare and serious childhood auto-inflammatory disease. The results, presented at the 2011 European Pediatric Rheumatology Congress in Bruges, Belgium, showed all primary and secondary endpoints of the study were met. Most ACZ885 patients (83.7%) experienced at least a 30% improvement in symptoms vs. 9.8% for placebo (p<0.0001) and a third of acz 885 patients 32.6 achieved a 100 improvement vs. 0 for placebo p="0.0001)." acz 885 is an investigational fully human monoclonal antibody that neutralizes interleukin-1 beta il-1 beta which is a key driver of inflammation in sjia. see ruperto n brunner h horneff g et al. efficacy and safety of canakinumab a long acting fully human anti-interleukin-1 beta antibody in systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis with active systemic features: results from a phase iii study. at: the 18th european pediatric rheumatology congress september 14-18 2011 bruges belgium. 2011. worldwide regulatory submissions for acz 885 in sjia are planned for 2012.>