Genentech will present a host of new information on its multiple sclerosis treatment Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) and lessons its scientists have learned about the disease at the 7th Joint ECTRIMS-ACTRIMS Meeting in Paris, Oct. 25–28.
The presentations will offer new insights into the therapy’s mechanisms, safety and effectiveness in people with the primary progressive and relapsing forms of MS. They will also look at new ways to track MS, including additional biomarker possibilities.
MS experts say the joint meeting of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS) and Americas Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ACTRIMS) is one of the largest global congregations of scientists working on the disease.
The information Genentech plans to present will demonstrate “the commitment of our scientists and research partners to advance understanding of MS progression through ongoing analyses of the Ocrevus Phase 3 clinical trials,” Dr. Sandra Horning, the company’s chief medical officer and head of its Global Product Development arm, said in a press release.
Genentech, which is part of the Roche group, said the 18 presentations will represent the largest body of evidence ever presented on Ocrevus. The discussions will reinforce the therapy’s favorable benefit-risk profile, Genentech added.
Two presentations will cover new ways that doctors can look for signs of disease activity that can lead to disability. One yardstick is called progression independent of relapse activity, or PIRA. Another is tracking slowly evolving lesions.
Genentech researchers came up with the approaches when they analyzed a subgroup of patients in the OPERA I and OPERA II Phase 3 clincal trials (NCT01247324 and NCT01412333), whose aim was to evaluate Ocrevus as a treatment for relapsing MS. The patients’ disease progressed even though they had no relapses, researchers said. The team will also discuss how Ocrevus affected these patients’ disease.
Another presentation will cover long-term follow-up data from an extension of the ORATORIO Phase 3 clinical trial (NCT01194570), which dealt with Ocrevus’ ability to treat primary progressive MS. It will look at how well Ocrevus slowed the progression of patients’ disability.