[S-25] New drug development and the change of treatment strategy in MG

[S-25-3] Challenges and developments in MG care in Europe

Maria I Leite^1,2 (1.University of Oxford, 2.Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust)

We are now experiencing the drastic changes in treatment strategy against MG. The Japanese clinical guidelines recommended lower dose of chronic steroids and early fast-acting treatment strategy. Recently, clinical trial of eculizumab was performed and the drug has been approved. Even after the proposal for these new strategies, nearly half of the MG patients do not achieve minimal manifestations status with prednisolone ≤5mg/day (a treatment target in Japan). Substantial number of patients are still administered insufficiently reduced oral steroids which hamper patients’ quality of life. Therefore, treatment status of MG is still far from our satisfaction. Fortunately, several new drugs are under development presently. In this symposium, we will discuss over the new drug development and adaptation status in real world clinical setting in United States, Europe and Asia.

Maria Isabel Leite, MD, DPhil, is Consultant Neurologist and Senior Clinical Research Fellow at the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and University of Oxford, UK.
Dr Leite has worked on the field of neuroimmunology since 1992, while Consultant Neurologist in Porto, Portugal. She moved to Oxford, UK, in 2002, to work with Prof Vincent, Prof Willcox and Prof Newson-Davies, where she completed her DPhil in myasthenia gravis, by the University of Oxford. After that, her clinical and research activities broaden and she developed further her interests and expertise across all the antibody mediated diseases of the nervous system, with particular emphasis on those that affect older adults; they include myasthenia gravis, LEMS, neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders, autoimmune encephalitis and others even rarer conditions. She focuses on the understanding immunopathogenic mechanisms, identification and meaning of clinical patterns, the role of co-morbidities, finding new treatments and improving outcomes.
Dr Leite’s academic activities, which cover undergraduate and post-graduate teaching, complement her clinical and research work and contribute to the dissemination of knowledge within the field of autoimmune neurology.