As­traZeneca spin­off scores maid­en FDA ap­proval, where it will field Alex­ion com­pe­ti­tion and an im­mi­nent Roche ri­val

About a year af­ter the first-ever FDA ap­proval for pa­tients with neu­romyelitis op­ti­ca spec­trum dis­or­der (NMOSD), the agency has ap­proved a sec­ond ther­a­py for the rare au­toim­mune con­di­tion.

On Thurs­day, As­traZeneca spin­off Viela Bio scored its maid­en ap­proval for its lead drug, Up­liz­na, to treat NMOSD pa­tients. It will com­pete with Alex­ion’s en­trenched key­stone ther­a­py Soliris — a mon­o­clon­al an­ti­body that tar­gets com­ple­ment pro­tein C5 — which se­cured its NMOSD ap­proval last June.

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