(Corrects last bullet point to say a separate late-stage trial of the drug is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter)
Sept 22 (Reuters) – Amgen said on Tuesday its experimental drug to treat an autoimmune disease that attacks the body’s moisture-producing glands met the main goal of reducing disease activity in a late-stage trial.
Here are some details:
• The drug dazodalibep showed statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in patients with Sjogren’s disease at week 48.
• Sjogren’s disease can cause extensive dryness of the eyes, mouth and other parts of the body, along with fatigue and chronic pain.
• It affects about 1% of the global population and predominantly affects women, according to the National Institutes of Health.
• Amgen said most adverse events in the trial were mild to moderate, with few patients discontinuing treatment.
• Novartis and Johnson & Johnson are also developing drugs to treat Sjogren’s disease, which has no approved treatments in the US.
• Amgen plans to present detailed data from the trial at an upcoming medical meeting. A second late-stage study of dazodalibep in moderate to severe symptomatic Sjogren’s disease is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of this year.
(Reporting by Christy Santhosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore)

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