On Tuesday, shares of Novartis AG (NVS.US) climbed more than 5% to trade at $160.82 apiece. The surge follows the company's announcement that its investigational oral therapy, remibrutinib, met key efficacy goals in a late-stage trial for multiple sclerosis (MS).

According to the data, patients treated with remibrutinib demonstrated a lower relapse rate and fewer brain lesions compared to those receiving teriflunomide, an established standard-of-care. Notably, no liver safety signals were observed with the investigational agent. If approved, remibrutinib could become a novel oral treatment for MS and serve as a strong successor to Novartis's blockbuster Kesimpta franchise.

The positive results also bolster the broader outlook for BTK inhibitors, a drug class designed to dampen harmful immune responses implicated in MS progression. This is a significant contrast to similar candidates from Sanofi and Merck, which failed to outperform teriflunomide on relapse-rate metrics in their own late-stage trials. Moreover, the success of remibrutinib is set to intensify competition with Roche in the MS treatment landscape.

Novartis plans to file for global regulatory approval of remibrutinib in MS, with detailed findings scheduled for presentation at a medical conference in Toronto later this year. The drug is already approved in the United States and Europe for chronic spontaneous urticaria, a skin condition characterized by recurrent itchy welts.