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 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 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.

Sanofi SA (NASDAQ:SNY) released data from the HERCULES phase 3 study of tolebrutinib for non-relapsing secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (nrSPMS). The data demonstrated that tolebrutinib delayed the time to onset of 6-month confirmed disability progression (CDP) by 31% compared to placebo (HR 0.

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.

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.

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