Long-Term Efficacy and Safety of Satralizumab in Patients With Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder From the SAkuraMoon Open-Label Extension Study
Journal: Neurology; July 30, 2025
Author(s): Jeffrey L Bennett, Kazuo Fujihara, Albert Saiz, Anthony L Traboulsee, Benjamin M Greenberg, Brian G Weinshenker, Francesco Patti, Ingo Kleiter, Jacqueline Palace, Jerome De Seze, Rachael Evans, Kathleen Blondeau, Gaëlle Klingelschmitt, Ivana Vodopivec, Masouda Rahim, Takashi Yamamura
How safe and effective is satralizumab over the long term in people with NMOSD?
This study was a follow-up to clinical trials called SAkuraSky and SAkuraStar, which tested the new drug satralizumab for NMOSD patients and found that it reduced the risk of relapses during the study period.
This study, called SAkuraMoon, looked how safe and effective satralizumab would be over a longer term in NMOSD patients who had participated in the SAkuraSky and SAkuraStar clinical trials.
Patients continued receiving satralizumab injections under the skin (dose: 120 mg 4 times a week), either on its own or along with certain other immunosuppressive treatments. Most patients received satralizumab treatment for 6.9 years, and some for as long as 10 years. In total, 166 patients were tested for the safety of the drug but only 111 patients who tested positive for AQP4-IgG antibodies were tested for its effectiveness.
The study found that satralizumab remained safe and effective over the longer duration that the patients were observed (up to 10 years). The side effects and instances of relapses were similar to, and not more severe than, those observed during the clinical trial period.
Related article: Trial of Satralizumab in Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder
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