Teriflunomide: A Review in Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis

Abstract

Teriflunomide (Aubagio^®) is a disease-modifying immunomodulatory drug with anti-inflammatory properties that selectively and reversibly inhibits the mitochondrial enzyme dihydro-orotate dehydrogenase, with consequent inhibition of de novo pyrimidine synthesis and reduced lymphocyte proliferation. Based on extensive evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and the real-world setting, oral teriflunomide is an effective and generally well tolerated treatment in patients with relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS), with these benefits maintained during long-term treatment (≥ 10 years) and no new safety signals identified. In pivotal RCTs in this patient population, teriflunomide provided significantly better efficacy than placebo (TEMSO and TOWER) and was as effective as interferon β-1a (TENERE) in terms of improvements in clinical outcomes (such as reduced annualized relapse rates, prevention of disability progression) and/or MRI-assessed disease activity measures. Albeit head-to-head trials would definitively establish the relative efficacy of oral disease-modifying therapies, given its convenient oral regimen and beneficial effects in reducing relapses and disease activity, teriflunomide remains an effective option for the management of relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS).