Patricia Inacio, PhD, science writer —

3P Biopharmaceuticals and Toleranzia are continuing their partnership to develop Toleranzia’s potential therapy candidate, TOL2, for people living with myasthenia gravis (MG). “Currently there are enormous opportunities offered by biotechnology as we can help to develop treatments for rare diseases or those without current therapeutic approaches, such as…

Younger age, more advanced thymoma (tumors of the thymus) and cancer recurrence predict poorer survival in people with myasthenia gravis (MG) whose tumors are surgically removed, a large study from China reports. Older age, in contrast, seems to protect against the likelihood of a tumor returning. The study,…

Harbour BioMed‘s HBM9161 was found to be safe and effective at reducing the levels of autoimmune disease-associated antibodies in many disorders, including myasthenia gravis, a Phase 1 trial shows. In autoimmune diseases such as myasthenia gravis, a type of antibody known as immunoglobulin G (IgG) attacks the…

Treatment with Rituxan (rituximab) benefits patients with myasthenia gravis (MG) with either anti-acetylcholine receptor (AChR) or muscle-specific tyrosine kinases (MuSKs) antibodies, a study has found. Patients with MuSKs antibodies, however, may experience greater improvement, including less time to achieve remission, fewer exacerbations, and need for hospitalizations following treatment. The…

A 35 year-old man with myasthenia gravis (MG) who developed a rare lymphoma — called mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) — in the thymus gland containing “extensive” amyloid deposits is described, for potentially a first time, in a case report. The report, “Amyloid deposition in thymic extranodal marginal…

Cyclophosphamide, a medicine with immunosuppressant abilities, may be a potential short-term alternative treatment for refractory — or difficult to treat — myasthenia gravis (MG), especially in lower-income countries, a small study from Mexico reports.   The study, “Intravenous cyclophosphamide monthly pulses in refractory myasthenia gravis,” was published in The…

A first clinical trial of Descartes-08, a CAR T-cell therapy for people with generalized myasthenia gravis (GMG) by Cartesian Therapeutics, is enrolling patients. CAR T-cell therapies have shown promise in multiple cancer types, but this study is believed to be the first test of their safety and efficacy…

UCB will add the investigational candidate zilucoplan to its therapeutic pipeline for the treatment of people with myasthenia gravis (MG), after announcing it will acquire the therapy’s developer, Ra Pharmaceuticals. Two Phase 3 trials are currently recruiting participants with generalized myasthenia gravis: the RAISE trial (…

The use of blood cholesterol-lowering medications called statins is linked to a small risk of myasthenia gravis (MG), according to a large World Health Organization database study. The study, “Statin‐induced myasthenia: a disproportionality analysis of the WHO’s VigiBase pharmacovigilance database,” was published in the journal Muscle&Nerve. Statins…

Myasthenia gravis (MG) patients who undergo thymectomy — surgery to remove the thymus gland — have a reduced risk of pulmonary infection and a shorter stay in intensive care when taken off mechanical ventilation support, called extubation, within six hours after surgery, a study suggests. The study, “Early extubation…