Uplizna linked to improved outcomes for Hispanic/Latino patients with NMOSD

Key takeaways:

• The study included 213 individuals with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder, with a subgroup of 40 Hispanic/Latino patients.
• Hispanic/Latino patients had less frequent attacks and disability worsening.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Hispanic and Latino individuals with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder experienced improved outcomes with Uplizna compared with placebo, according to a poster from ACTRIMS 2024.

“It is understood that autoimmune diseases like neuromyeltis optica spectrum disorder can disproportionately impact patients of different genetic makeups, with race and ethnicity being one of those important sub-groups,” Mirla Avila, MD, associate professor and director of the Texas Tech Comprehensive Care MS Center, told Healio in an email. “It is important to ensure treatments like Uplizna safely and effectively reduce attacks among these patients.”

Avila and fellow researchers aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of Uplizna (inebilizumab) Hispanic or Latino patients with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) who were seropositive for aquaporin-4 antibody (AQP4+) in the N-MOmentum clinical trial.

N-MOmentum was a double-blind, phase 2/3 study that featured a 28-week randomized controlled period (RCP) during which 213 AQP4+ individuals were given either 300 mg IV inebilizumab or placebo on days 1 and 15, as well as an open-label period (OLP) of 2 years.

Post hoc analyses were conducted for 40 participants who self-identified as Hispanic or Latino: 25 in the inebilizumab group and 15 in the placebo group.

The primary endpoint was time to first adjudicated NMOSD attack, with secondary endpoints including annualized attack rate (AAR), Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score worsening and adverse events (AE).

In the RCP, results showed Hispanic/Latino patients given inebilizumab were less likely to have an attack compared with those given placebo (HR = 0.25; 95% CI: 0.06-1.01). At the end of the OLP, Hispanic/Latino participants had an AAR (95% CI) of 0.08 [0.04-0.17], whereas non-Hispanic/Latino participants had an AAR (95% CI) of 0.1 [0.07-0.15].

EDSS worsening odds ratio (95% CI) from baseline to last RCP visit in the Hispanic/Latino inebilizumab group (n=25), compared with placebo (n = 15), was 0.5 (0.09-2.7); it was 0.3 (0.12-0.63) in the non-Hispanic/Latino inebilizumab group (n = 136) vs. placebo (n=37). Among Hispanic/Latino participants receiving inebilizumab in the RCP, four of 25 reported 1 investigational product-related treatment-emergent adverse event vs. three of 15 in the placebo group, while among non-Hispanic/Latino participants, the ratio was 36 of 136 for inebilizumab and 10 of 37 for placebo.

“This study found that Hispanic and Latino participants receiving Uplizna were less likely to experience an attack and had improved outcomes compared to placebo, showing comparable safety and efficacy when compared to non-Hispanic and Latino participants as well,” Avila told Healio.