Gaining a more targeted treatment for gMG

The US FDA has approved UCB’s RYSTIGGO (rozanolixizumab-noli) for the treatment of generalized myasthenia gravis (gMG) in adult patients who are anti-acetylcholine receptor (AChR) or anti-muscle specific tyrosine kinase (MuSK) antibody positive.

gMG is a rare and chronic autoimmune neuromuscular disease with a prevalence of 100-350 per 1 million people worldwide. In gMG, pathogenic IgG antibodies disrupt the communication at neuromuscular junctions (NMJ) resulting in a reduced signal from nerve to muscle and weaker muscle contraction. Depending on severity, gMG can cause symptoms from double vision and drooping eyelids to difficulty chewing and swallowing or even life-threatening weakness of muscles of respiration.

RYSTIGGO serves as a subcutaneous infusion of humanized IgG4 monoclonal antibody that binds to the neonatal Fc receptor (FcRN) to reduce the production of IgG. This new treatment offers a targeted option to provide symptom improvement as opposed to previous broad-acting treatments that only offer symptomatic relief.

The approval of RYSTIGGO makes it the only approved treatment in adults for both anti-AChR and anti-MuSK antibody positive gMG, which are the two most common subtypes of gMG.

Written by Amber Hutchinson, PhD, MSc