Therapeutic Responses to Efgartigimod for Generalized Myasthenia Gravis in Japan.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Efgartigimod, which has been well tolerated and efficacious in individuals with generalized myasthenia gravis (MG), is available in Japan not only for the treatment of anti-acetylcholine receptor-positive (AChR+) but also anti-muscle-specific receptor tyrosine kinase (MuSK+) and seronegative generalized MG. We report details of the use of efgartigimod for generalized MG in clinical practice in Japan.

METHODS: We included patients with generalized MG in the 2021 survey of Japan Myasthenia Gravis Registry (JAMG-R) study group who received an initial cycle of efgartigimod between May and September 2022. We defined "responders" as patients who achieved a score ≥2 points for MG activities of daily living (MG-ADL) in the first treatment cycle. The MG composite and the Revised scale of the 15-item Myasthenia Gravis-Quality of Life scale (MG-QOL15-r) were also evaluated.

RESULTS: Of 1,343 JAMG-R patients, 36 (2.7%) started efgartigimod (female 68%, age 53 years). Their serologic profiles were as follows: AChR+, n = 19 (53%); MuSK+, n = 6 (17%); and seronegative, n = 11 (31%). Twenty-six patients (72%) had refractory MG. There were 81 cycles of efgartigimod during the 26-week observation in 34 patients (average, 2.4 cycles). The mean interval between cycles was 5.9 weeks. A continuous 4-weekly infusion of efgartigimod was performed in 65 (80%) of 81 cycles. In the first cycle, the MG-ADL score of the 34 patients decreased significantly from 10.5 ± 4.3 to 6.9 ± 5.1 ( p = 0.003). Similarly, the mean MG composite and MG-QOL15-r decreased from 18.4 ± 13.6 to 11.8 ± 9.6 ( p = 0.004) and from 19.2 ± 6.3 to 14.2 ± 8.3 ( p = 0.007), respectively. Twenty-one (62%) patients were responders. Therapeutic responses were observed in the subsequent cycles. The duration of effectiveness of efgartigimod was varied among the responders; 4 responders had only a single effective cycle. Significant improvement was observed in the MuSK+ patients. Prednisolone dose of 7 patients was reduced. Our examination of the patients' postintervention status revealed that 6 patients achieved minimal manifestations. COVID-19 occurred in 5 patients. We failed to detect clinical or laboratory findings associated with responders.

DISCUSSION: Efgartigimod can be considered for the treatment of patients with generalized MG who do not achieve minimal manifestations, with a broad flexibility of patient selection and treatment schedules.