Sanofi’s experimental drug for a form of multiple sclerosis delayed the progression of disability by nearly a third, providing hope for patients for whom there’s currently no treatment.

Sanofi SA’s (NASDAQ:SNY) data from the HERCULES phase 3 study showed that tolebrutinib met the primary endpoint of improvement over placebo in delaying time to onset of confirmed disability progression (CDP) in non-relapsing secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (nrSPMS).

The positive readout in patients with non-relapsing secondary progressive multiple sclerosis comes on the heels of back-to-back failures in which tolebrutinib was unable to improve relapse rates in patients with relapsing MS.

Data from the HERCULES trial presented at the ECTRIMS conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, today showed that tolebrutinib was able to delay the time to six-month disability progression by 31% compared to placebo in patients with non-relapsing secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (nrSPMS).

Sanofi is pursuing several opportunities in MS, a debilitating nerve disease, to offset revenue losses after the recent end of MS pill Aubagio’s patent protection

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Sanofi said on Friday that its multiple sclerosis drug candidate was shown to delay worsening of a progressive form of the disease by 31%, as the French drugmaker eyes a request for approval later this year. The company said earlier this month that the late-stage trial with the drug candidate tolebrutinib was successful.

Tolebrutinib delayed the onset of disability progression by 31% for patients with a type of the disease called non-relapsing secondary progressive MS, according to data from a late stage trial presented Friday, Sept. 20, at a research congress in Copenhagen. The results confirm topline findings published on Sept. 2.

After missing primary endpoints in relapsing forms of MS, tolebrutinib has proved its efficacy in secondary progressive MS patients.