Horizon's UPLIZNA Trials Show No Increase In COVID-19 Infection Susceptibility, Antibody Depletion

(RTTNews) - Horizon Therapeutics plc (HZNP) Thursday announced that its B-cell-depleting monotherapy UPLIZNA does not increase susceptibility to COVID infection or deplete childhood vaccine-generated antibodies. The company plans to release the data from N-MOmentum clinical trial of UPLIZNA for the treatment of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder or NMOSD at the ACTRIMS Forum in San Diego.

Horizon said the low rate of COVID infections reported in UPLIZNA-treated patients and will evaluate any correlation between UPLIZNA treatment and COVID infection risk and outcomes. Further, the biotech company noted that long-term UPLIZNA treatment did not affect vaccine-generated antibodies in NMOSD patients. The vaccine titers showed no meaningful reduction after 3.5 years of treatment with UPLIZNA.

NMOSD is a unifying term for neuromyelitis optica and related syndromes, a rare, severe, relapsing, neuroinflammatory autoimmune disease.