Inhibition of the development of chronic experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis by laquinimod (ABR-215062) in IFN-β k.o. and wild type mice

Laquinimod is a novel oral immunomodulatory substance, which is currently developed for the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS). The ability of laquinimod to inhibit disease development was investigated in chronic experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (chEAE) in IFN-β k.o. mice and wild type mice. Laquinimod was shown to inhibit both disease development and histopathological changes in the CNS. Furthermore, laquinimod was found to be independent of endogenous IFN-β for its effect in chEAE. When laquinimod was combined with exogenous IFN-β, a synergistic disease inhibitory effect was seen. These findings using laquinimod in preclinical disease models for MS emphasize the potential of laquinimod in the future treatment of MS also in patients that do not respond to IFN-β monotherapy. Furthermore, the results indicate that laquinimod may favourably be combined with IFN-β.