Fingolimod
GilenyaPubChem CID 107970 · 3D model
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A once-daily pill that gets converted in the body into an active form that traps immune cells in the lymph nodes, keeping them from reaching and attacking the brain and spinal cord in multiple sclerosis.
How it works
Fingolimod itself is inactive — the body converts it into an active form, fingolimod-phosphate, which then locks onto a docking site called S1P1 on immune cells. Normally, immune cells called lymphocytes use that docking site to sense a chemical trail leading them out of lymph nodes and into circulation. By causing S1P1 to be pulled inside the cell and broken down, fingolimod-phosphate leaves lymphocytes trapped in lymph nodes instead of circulating to the brain and spinal cord, where they'd otherwise fuel the immune attacks behind multiple sclerosis. It's a different strategy from ocrelizumab, also on this site, which doesn't trap immune cells — it hunts down and destroys a specific type of them, B cells, directly.
What it’s used for
Gilenya is approved to treat relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis, including a first MS-like episode, the relapsing-remitting form, and active secondary progressive MS, in adults and children age 10 and up.
- Mechanism
- Sphingosine 1-phosphate receptor 1 (S1P1) modulator (prodrug)
- Drug class
- Small molecule
- Therapeutic area
- Neurology