Summary
Abatacept has reached the approved stage (maximum clinical phase 4) for at least one indication, so its use in Multiple Sclerosis would be drug repurposing rather than first-in-human development. This does not mean it is approved for Multiple Sclerosis. ClinicalTrials.gov lists 3 registered trials linking Abatacept to Multiple Sclerosis: 1 is currently recruiting; 1 has completed; 1 is terminated, withdrawn, suspended or of unknown status. The most advanced is Phase 2 (NCT07161999). It plans or enrolled 120 participants. Registration activity spans 2001 to 2025. The literature layer holds 4 publications for this pair: 1 Cochrane review and 3 clinical trial publications. Publication years run from 2010 to 2020. Because at least one synthesis-level source exists (systematic review, meta-analysis or Cochrane review), this pair has been assessed beyond single studies, although the synthesis may concern a different indication.
The RepurpOS disease-intelligence file for Multiple Sclerosis ranks 371 candidate therapeutics from Open Targets, ChEMBL, DGIdb and PubMed; only a minority carry direct clinical evidence, and this page covers one of those. Spontaneous remission context recorded for the condition: Untreated relapsing MS: ~1 relapse/year; disability accumulates over time in ~85% who convert to secondary progressive MS; spontaneous remission from MS is not possible.
Evidence table
| Evidence tier | A · Strong |
|---|---|
| Evidence score | 40.0 (trials 9.0, literature 11.0, tier 15, approved bonus 5.0) |
| Registered trials | 3 total: 1 recruiting, 0 active / not yet recruiting, 1 completed, 1 other |
| Linked publications | 4 (3 clinical trial publications, 1 Cochrane review) |
| Agent type | Drug (Small molecule) |
| Development stage (any indication) | Approved |
| Mechanism / class | inhibitor |
| Data sources | DGIdb |
| Linked via biomarker / target | CD86 |
How the evidence score is calculated
- Each registered trial scores by status (recruiting / active / enrolling 3, completed 2.5, not yet recruiting 2, unknown 1, terminated / withdrawn / suspended 0.5) plus a phase bonus (phase 3-4 +2, phase 2 +1, phase 1 +0.5). The trial component is capped at 30.
- Each literature item scores by design (Cochrane review 5, meta-analysis 4, systematic review 3, RCT 3, clinical trial publication 2, curated reference 1.5, other PubMed record 1). The literature component is capped at 30.
- The existing evidence tier adds 15 (A / Strong), 10 (B / Moderate), 5 (C / Preliminary) or 0 (D / Anecdotal).
- Agents approved for any indication (max clinical phase 4) add 5, because an approved agent has an established safety profile that lowers the barrier to repurposing trials.
- The score ranks what has been studied, not what works. It does not read effect sizes or directions of effect.
Registered clinical trials
| NCT ID | Title | Status | Phase | Enrolment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NCT01116427 | A Cooperative Clinical Study of Abatacept in Multiple Sclerosis 2010 | completed | Phase 2 | 65 |
| NCT07161999 | Study of COYA 302 for the Treatment of ALS 2025 | recruiting | Phase 2 | 120 |
| NCT00035529 | A Study to Evaluate the Preliminary Efficacy Pharmacokinetics and Immunogenicity of BMS-188667 Administered to Subjects With Relapsing-remitting Multiple Sclerosis 2001 | terminated | Phase 2 | — |
Published literature
- Cochrane review Pharmacological treatment of psoriatic arthritis: a systematic literature research for the 2019 update of the EULAR recommendations for the management of psoriatic arthritisKerschbaumer A, Smolen JS, Dougados M et al. · Annals of the rheumatic diseases · 2020 · PMID 32381564
- Clinical trial publication Abatacept Targets T Follicular Helper and Regulatory T Cells, Disrupting Molecular Pathways That Regulate Their Proliferation and MaintenanceGlatigny S, Höllbacher B, Motley SJ et al. · Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md. : 1950) · 2019 · PMID 30683697
- Clinical trial publication ACCLAIM: A randomized trial of abatacept (CTLA4-Ig) for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosisKhoury SJ, Rochon J, Ding L et al. · Multiple sclerosis (Houndmills, Basingstoke, England) · 2017 · PMID 27481207
- Clinical trial publication Long-term safety and efficacy of abatacept in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritisRuperto N, Lovell DJ, Quartier P et al. · Arthritis and rheumatism · 2010 · PMID 20191582
Mechanism and notes
Recorded mechanism or class: inhibitor.
OSMF's existing evidence tier for this pair is A (Strong), derived from the strength of the disease association recorded in DGIdb, in this case via the biomarker or target CD86. The tier describes how well the drug-disease link is documented, not how well the drug works.
Frequently asked questions
Is Abatacept approved for Multiple Sclerosis?
Abatacept has reached the approved stage (maximum clinical phase 4) for at least one indication, so its use in Multiple Sclerosis would be drug repurposing rather than first-in-human development. This does not mean it is approved for Multiple Sclerosis. Approval status for the specific indication should always be confirmed with the relevant regulator and prescribing information.
Is Abatacept in clinical trials for Multiple Sclerosis?
ClinicalTrials.gov lists 3 registered trials linking Abatacept to Multiple Sclerosis: 1 is currently recruiting; 1 has completed; 1 is terminated, withdrawn, suspended or of unknown status. The most advanced is Phase 2 (NCT07161999). It plans or enrolled 120 participants. Registration activity spans 2001 to 2025.
What does the evidence show for Abatacept in Multiple Sclerosis?
Abatacept has both completed registered trials and synthesis-level publications linked to Multiple Sclerosis. That is the strongest profile in this database, but the summaries here do not extract effect sizes, so read the linked reviews for direction and magnitude of benefit. OSMF's existing evidence tier for this pair is A (Strong), derived from the strength of the disease association recorded in DGIdb, in this case via the biomarker or target CD86. The tier describes how well the drug-disease link is documented, not how well the drug works.
Cite this page
Data: ClinicalTrials.gov, PubMed, Open Targets, ChEMBL, DGIdb and the OSMF therapeutic agent database. Last updated 2026-07-05. Page built 2026-10-07.