August 16, 2018 News by Iqra Mumal, MSc Lemtrada Can Lower Number of B-cells Infiltrating Nervous System and Forming Clumps, Animal Study Shows Treating mice in a model of multiple sclerosis with Lemtrada (alemtuzumab)Ā prevented the formation of B-cell aggregates in the animals’ central nervous system and disrupted already existing ones, researchers report. The treatment alsoĀ reduced disease activity when administered at the peak of disease. The study, āAnti-CD52 antibody treatment depletes B…
February 12, 2018 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News that Caught My Eye Last Week: 3rd Round of Lemtrada, Ampyra’s Possibilities, Long-term MD1003, Possible PML Treatment #ACTRIMS2018 ā Third Course of Lemtrada Improves Relapse, Disability in MS Patients, CARE-MS II Trial Shows The normal treatment regimen with Lemtrada is a series of two treatment courses, with the second infusion course given 12 months after the first. A “selling point” for this disease-modifying therapy (DMT) is…
January 5, 2018 Columns by John Connor New Year’s Resolution: Do What You Can, While You Can There ‘s a top 10 list of New Year’s resolutions that are most commonly made and then most commonly broken. Lose weight, get fit, stop smoking (well, never touch hard drugs like tobacco), and spend more time with the family (they have no choice unless they leave…
January 5, 2018 Columns by Ed Tobias My Lemtrada Journey: A New Year’s Update Happy new year to all. The start of the new year seems like a good time to assess what my journey has been like since my first round of Lemtrada (alemtuzumab)Ā back in December 2016. The road has had bumps and hills and dips. But, overall, Lemtrada has…
March 4, 2016 News by Patricia Silva, PhD In ‘Take Action on MS,’ a New Web Series, Actress Madeleine Stowe Tackles Topics of Import to RRMS Patients Genzyme, a specialty care unit of Sanofi, announced thatĀ TV and film actress Madeleine Stowe willĀ hostĀ its new online series, “Take Action on MS,”Ā focusing onĀ people living with relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS). Stowe, whose father had MS, works with Genzyme to educate people across the U.S. about daily life with the…
December 3, 2015 by BioNews Staff Coral Gables, FL MS Exchange Event This Saturday To Explore Relapsing MS Management An interactive event in Coral Gables, FL this weekend will give relapsing Multiple Sclerosis patients who live in the area access to best practices and therapeutic insights that can help them better manage the disease.Ā The Coral Gables MS Exchange eventĀ will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. on…
November 10, 2015 News by Charles Moore Free MS Exchange Interactive Events Coming to San Antonio and Coral Gables (Miami) Two upcoming, free events for members of the multiple sclerosis community are to be held during the next few weeks at Coral Gables, Florida, and San Antonio, Texas, respectively. Sponsored by the pharmaceutical firm Genzyme, these interactive events will provide opportunities for peopleĀ with MS and members of the MS community…
October 12, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Update on Alemtuzumab (Genzyme’s Lemtrada) Clinical Trial Data Presented at ECTRIMS 2015 Multiple Sclerosis News Today recently attended the 31st Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS)Ā held in Barcelona, Spain, October 7 to 10, 2015. On Friday, October 9, three parallel sessions entitled āFree Communicationsā took place. In the first session, several topics related to multiple…
October 9, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Genzyme Provides Update on Lemtrada for Patients with Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis, ECTRIMS 2015 Genzyme, aĀ SanofiĀ company, recently announced novel positive 5-year experimental dataĀ from the extension study of LemtradaĀ®Ā (alemtuzumab) in individuals with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). The findings were presented today, October 9, at the 31stĀ Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS) in Barcelona, Spain. LemtradaĀ®Ā (alemtuzumab), developedĀ by Genzyme, is…
October 7, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Genzyme to Present vs.MS Global Survey Data on Relapsing Multiple Sclerosis Challenges at ECTRIMS Genzyme recently announced a novel worldwide initiative called vs.MS, whose goal is to increase awareness of the psychical and emotional toll of relapsing multiple sclerosis (RMS) on patients and their caregivers. To enhance the comprehension of the full burden of RMS, Genzyme conducted a large-scale survey ofĀ more than 1,500 individuals…
August 17, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Oral Disease Modifying Agents for Multiple Sclerosis Are Now More Preferred by Neurologists A survey of 97 neurologists conducted in June 2015 revealed specialists within the field of neurologyĀ are increasingly avoiding prescribing injectables to patients suffering from multiple sclerosis, as orally-available disease modifying-agents (DMAs) continue to gain in popularity. The survey was conducted and reported by Spherix Global Insights, a newly established business…
August 3, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD MS Views and News Announces August Educational Events The non-profit organization MSĀ News and ViewsĀ (MSVN) announced that it will host four educational events during the month of August for both patients and other peopleĀ interested in learning more aboutĀ multiple sclerosis (MS). The educational events reflectĀ the organization’s ongoing mission, which is to collect, present and…
June 26, 2015 News by Charles Moore Health Canada Non-Insured Health Benefits Program Approves AUBAGIO for Relapsing Remitting Multiple Sclerosis Genzyme Canada has announced that Health Canada has approved its 14 mg dose of AUBAGIO as an expedited exception benefit product through the federal health regulator’s Non-Insured Health Benefits (NIHB) Program for eligible First Nations people and Inuit as a first-line oral tablet therapy for relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS).
June 23, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Canadian Drug Expert Committee Recommends MS Therapy LEMTRADA For Public Coverage The Canadian Drug Expert Committee (CDEC) recently recommended thatĀ LEMTRADAĀ (alemtuzumab) beĀ included in provincial and other public drug plansĀ for the management of adult patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). The recommendation was madeĀ through Canada’sĀ Common Drug Review (CDR) and announced in a press releaseĀ by the company that…
June 4, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD MS Health Care Excellence Awards Launched in UK UK-basedĀ MS Trust has announced the launch of newĀ awards designedĀ to distinguish healthcare professionals that are committed to treatingĀ and changing the lives of patients who suffer from multiple sclerosis (MS). The QuDos Awards are currently open for nominations and will featureĀ ten different categories. TheĀ QuDoS in MS Awards ā…
May 26, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD AUBAGIO Included in Prince Edward Island Pharmacare Canadian province Prince Edward Island (PEI) has approved the inclusion of Aubagio (teriflunomide) 14 mg in the PEI Pharmacare’s provincial drug formulary. This means that the drug developed and commercialized byĀ Genzyme is now financially supported by the state as aĀ first-line oral tablet to treat patients who…
May 20, 2015 News by Kara Elam Genzyme Announces New Research Collaboration With Ablynx for Innovative Multiple Sclerosis Therapeutic Project This week, Belgian-based biopharmaceutical company Ablynx announced they have entered into an exclusive research collaboration with Genzyme, a Sanofi company, to investigate the use of Nanobodies as part of a targeted therapeutic strategy for multiple sclerosis (MS). Ā The research will utilize Genzymeās early-stage MS research programs involving neuroprotection…
May 1, 2015 News by admin Genzyme’s LEMTRADA Maintain’s Effectiveness in Reducing Brain Atrophy According to Recent Study Results GenzymeĀ presentedĀ new magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data from the LemtradaĀ® (alemtuzumab) clinical development programĀ onĀ April 23, 2015, at the 67th American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Annual Meeting. The company showed that in the extension phase of two Phase III trials (years 3 and 4), the drug continued to protect the nervous…
December 26, 2014 News by Patricia Silva, PhD British Columbia Agrees To fund AUBAGIO RRMS Therapy British Columbia’sĀ PharmaCare drug program has announced thatĀ it will fundĀ AUBAGIO, a therapy developed byĀ GenzymeĀ for the treatment of multiple sclerosis.Ā AUBAGIO (teriflunomide) 14 mg has been officially added toĀ PharmaCare’s provincial formulary as a first-line oral agent for patients suffering from relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). As…
December 9, 2014 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Madeleine Stowe Continues US Multiple Sclerosis Tour to Share Her Family Story Actress and star of the ABC show “Revenge”,Ā Madeleine Stowe,Ā recently shared her personal story of living in a family with someone who suffers from Ā multiple sclerosis (MS). Her father lived for many years with the disease. The actress has decided to help not only MS patients but…
December 2, 2014 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Aubagio for Relapsing-Remitting MS Now Funded in Alberta Genzyme, a Sanofi company with over 30 years of dedication to researching and developing novel treatments for rare and orphan diseases, has just announced the Alberta Drug Program has finally decided to include AubagioĀ® (teriflunomide) 14mg in the provincial drug formulary, indicated for the first-line…
November 25, 2014 News by Charles Moore Province Of Ontario Funds Genzyme’s AUBAGIO For Relapsing Remitting Multiple Sclerosis With 100,000 Canadians living with Multiple Sclerosis (MS), and three people newly diagnosed every day, Canada has one of the highest prevalence rates for the disease in the world. Most people are diagnosed with relapsing MS in their twenties and thirties, and MS is the most common neurological disease affecting…
November 17, 2014 News by Charles Moore Genzyme’s Lemtrada Approved by the FDA Cambridge, Massachusetts based Genzyme announced Friday that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the company’s new drug Lemtrada (alemtuzumab) for treatment of people with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis, which includes people who experience periodic MS attacks, such as those who have relapsing-remitting MS or secondary-progressive…
November 5, 2014 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Genzyme Clinical Trial for Relapsing-Remitting MS Enrolls 1st Patient Sanofi subsidiary and rare disease treatment specialistĀ GenzymeĀ has just announced the successful enrollment of the first participant in their multicenter Phase II clinical trial for the company’s pipeline intravenous drug forĀ relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), vatelizumab. This novel drug is composed of humanized monoclonal antibodies that specifically target…
October 27, 2014 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Positive Data from Two Key MS Trials Added To Aubagio’s U.S. Label The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently accepted the results from Genzyme’s TOWER and TOPIC Ā clinical trials,Ā which assessed the safety and efficacy of oral, once-daily AubagioĀ® (teriflunomide) for Multiple Sclerosis, and will add the positive data to the productās U.S. label. Genzyme is a leader in the development…
October 16, 2014 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Revenge Star Madeleine Stowe is the New Face of Multiple Sclerosis Featureflash / Shutterstock.com Television’s “Queen of Mean,” Revenge‘s Madeleine Stowe,Ā recently opened up about her early memories of her father living with multiple sclerosis (MS), a progressive neurodegenerative disease that, until today, does not have a known cure. However, thanks to the efforts of countless researchers and MS…
October 2, 2014 News by Charles Moore QuĆ©bec Government Covers Lemtrada Second-line Treatment For Relapsing-remitting Multiple Sclerosis Genzyme, a Sanofi company, has announced that the Canadian province of QuĆ©bec’s Institut national d’excellence en santĆ© et services sociaux (INESSS) has recommended that the company’s multiple sclerosis (MS) drug Lemtrada (alemtuzumab) 12 mg be included on the provincial drug formulary under “MĆ©dicament d’exception” as a second-line treatment for…
September 9, 2014 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Genzyme’s Aubagio, Lemtrada MS Therapies To Showcase at Conference During the 30th Congress of the European Committee for Research and Treatment in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS) taking place in Boston between September 10th and 13th, Genzyme, a Sanofi company, will present its multiple sclerosis (MS) pipeline with a new group of trial treatments for early development of MS.
July 16, 2014 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Lemtrada For RRMS Still Under Review in the U.S., Now Approved in Scotland The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) Ā announced the approval of the drug Lemtrada, produced byĀ Genzyme, for the treatment of adult patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) and active disease defined by clinical or imaging features, within the national health system (NHS) in Scotland. Lemtrada…
July 1, 2014 News by Patricia Silva, PhD MS Genzyme Drug Lemtrada Approved in Argentina, Still Under Review in US Lemtrada, a drug produced by GenzymeĀ for the treatment of adult patients suffering from relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) with active disease, was approved by Argentinaās National Administration of Drugs, Food and Medical Technology (ANMAT). “We are pleased by the continued global support for Lemtrada,” said Genzyme…