FDA gives new approval to Novartis MS drug

EAST HANOVER, N.J. — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a new use for a drug made by Novartis for treating multiple sclerosis, the Swiss drug maker's U.S. subsidiary said Monday.



Novartis Pharmaceuticals announced the FDA's approval of Gilenya (fingolimod) for the reduction of T1 gadolinium-enhancing lesions, areas of inflammation in the central nervous system that mark disease activity in people with MS.



"Neurologists commonly use gadolinium contrast MRI activity to assess for active inflammation in people living with MS," MS Center for Innovations in Care at the Missouri Baptist Medical Center director Barry Singer said. "These data show that treatment with Gilenya helped to significantly reduce contrast MRI activity in people with relapsing-remitting MS."