BOSTON – Treatment of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis patients with the investigational drug RPC1063, a selective, oral sphingosine 1-phosphate 1 receptor modulator, in the phase II RADIANCE trial generated few concerns about potential cardiac events or elevated liver enzymes.
These initial clinical trial results of RPC1063 hint at a potentially better safety profile than the approved sphingosine 1-phosphate receptor modulator fingolimod, which has a high affinity for the sphingosine 1-phosphate 1, 3, 4, and 5 receptor subtypes. Its affinity for the sphingosine 1-phosphate 3 and 4 subtypes are thought to contribute to its potential for cardiac adverse events. RPC1063 could prove to be a safer drug because of its specificity for sphingosine 1-phosphate receptor subtype 1, according to Dr. Jeffrey Cohen, director of the Mellon Center for Multiple Sclerosis at the Cleveland Clinic and primary investigator for the RADIANCE trial. Dr. Cohen spoke with us at the joint meeting of the European and Americas Committees for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis.