Biogen Idec (BIIB) announced positive top-line results from a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase II study (RENEW) on anti-LINGO-1 for the treatment of patients suffering from acute optic neuritis.
The RENEW study evaluated the effects on remyelination by measuring the latency of nerve conduction between the retina and the visual cortex in the brain in terms of full field visual evoked potential (FF-VEP). The primary endpoint of the study was to measure the FF-VEP latency (time for a signal to travel from the retina to the visual cortex) for the affected eye at week 24 compared to the unaffected eye at baseline.
Patients treated with anti-LINGO-1 showed biological repair of their visual system as anti-LINGO-1 led to the recovery of optic nerve latency, compared to placebo. Anti-LINGO-1 was well tolerated among the patients.
Biogen said the above results were the first to show evidence of biological repair in the central nervous system following an acute inflammatory injury by facilitating remyelination.
Meanwhile, Biogen is conducting a phase II double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized, 22-month long dose-range finding study (SYNERGY) on anti-LINGO-1 in patients suffering from relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis including secondary progressive multiple sclerosis.
The RENEW study, along with the SYNERGY study, is a part of the phase II development program on anti-LINGO-1. The SYNERGY study is fully enrolled with results expected in 2016.
Biogen carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Some better-ranked stocks in the health care sector are Regado Biosciences, Inc. (RGDO), NewLink Genetics Corp. (NLNK) and AMAG Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (AMAG). All these stocks carry a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
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