Patricia Inacio, PhD,  science writer—

Bionxt Solutions has launched the final animal study needed to prepare for human testing of BNT23001, its sublingual version of cladribine, in people with multiple sclerosis (MS). The 15-day dosing optimization study will compare Bionxt’s thin-film formulation with the approved tablet version of cladribine, sold as Mavenclad, in…

Quantum Biopharma says it is closer to initiating a Phase 2 clinical trial — one involving people living with multiple sclerosis (MS) — to test its experimental therapy Lucid-MS after receiving the final reports from two toxicology studies requested by the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The…

A generic formulation of Zeposia (ozanimod), which won tentative approval for treating multiple sclerosis (MS) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), will be manufactured and supplied by Synthon, based in the Netherlands. Tentative approval means the generic version has met all FDA requirements for…

Octave Bioscience has raised $35.6 million in funding to continue marketing its multiple sclerosis (MS) disease activity test and accelerate the development of a similar tool for Parkinson’s disease. The Multiple Sclerosis Disease Activity (MSDA) test — the first blood test of its kind…

Three biosimilar drugs — approved versions of brand-name therapies that have no clinically meaningful differences compared with their reference products — including one for multiple sclerosis (MS), will soon be available in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region under a new partnership between two pharmaceutical companies.

An oral treatment that could repair nerve damage in multiple sclerosis (MS) is a step closer to a Phase 2 clinical trial. Quantum Biopharma signed a manufacturing agreement covering an oral formulation of its investigational small molecule Lucid-21-302, also known as Lucid-MS, as it prepares for the Phase 2…

A person with multiple sclerosis (MS) has for the first time been treated with an “off-the-shelf” CAR T-cell therapy called azercabtagene zapreleucel (azer-cel), a donor-derived approach that’s never before been tested in the disease. The experimental treatment was given at Nebraska Medicine’s Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center…

Despite evidence supporting the safety of disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) during pregnancy, women with multiple sclerosis (MS) in their childbearing years are significantly less likely than men in the same age range to receive these typically most effective treatments, according to a study from France. The researchers found what they…

A&W Canada’s annual Burgers to Beat MS Day is returning for its 17th year to raise funds for MS Canada and its efforts to improve the lives of people affected by multiple sclerosis (MS). As part of the fundraiser, A&W will donate CA$2 (about $1.45) to MS…

The law firm Kalfus & Nachman will host a special event to raise funds for multiple sclerosis (MS) research, patient care, advocacy, and increasing disease awareness. The fundraising will be held Friday, March 28, at 1:00 p.m., in the back parking lot of Kalfus & Nachman’s building, 870…

While people with multiple sclerosis (MS) seem to get a similar quantity of sleep relative to individuals without the disease, MS patients have significantly worse sleep quality than their healthy counterparts, according to a new review of several published studies. The findings show that MS may affect a person’s…

The U.K.’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has cleared Pheno Therapeutics to initiate a first-in-human Phase 1 clinical trial to test its oral candidate PTD802 in healthy volunteers. The therapy is a selective small molecule antagonist, or inhibitor, of the GPR17 receptor and is designed to restore…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted breakthrough therapy designation to Sanofi’s BTK inhibitor candidate tolebrutinib for the treatment of adults with nonrelapsing secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS). According to Sanofi, tolebrutinib is the first investigational BTK inhibitor with the ability to reach the brain…

A PhD student at the UMass Chan Medical School will use funding from a newly awarded fellowship to advance his research into the mechanisms used by cells to repair myelin, the protective sheath around nerve cells that’s damaged in multiple sclerosis (MS) and other demyelinating conditions. The ongoing…

The U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized an investigational new drug application from Synaptogenix, clearing the company to launch a clinical trial to test whether its lead candidate bryostatin-1 can prevent cognitive decline in people with multiple sclerosis (MS). The open-label, Phase 1 clinical trial (NCT06190912),…

Cionic has added three renowned institutions on the East Coast to its national Centers of Excellence program, a move that expands the availability in the U.S. of the Neural Sleeve to people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and other neurological conditions that affect mobility. The program represents a key…

Most patients with nonactive secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) who took foralumab nasal spray for at least six months saw a decrease in microglial activity in their brains, according to its developer Tiziana Life Sciences. The results were gleaned from PET imaging data from 10 nonactive SPMS patients…

Renowned experts in multiple sclerosis (MS) healthcare, research, and advocacy will again gather at the annual meeting of the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC), slated this year for May 29 to June 1. The event, now in its 38th edition, will return to the Music City Center, in Nashville,…

Helius Medical Technologies is collaborating with Lovell Government Services to make its PoNS device — designed to improve walking ability in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) — available to U.S. veterans and MS patients in other federal healthcare systems. The PoNS device, officially named the Portable Neuromodulation Stimulator, is…

FSD Pharma has entered an agreement to launch a Phase 1 clinical trial that will test multiple ascending doses of Lucid-21-302 — an oral treatment candidate commonly known as Lucid-MS, for all types of multiple sclerosis (MS) — in healthy volunteers. The company’s subsidiary Huge Biopharma Australia established…

The French company Juvisé Pharmaceuticals has acquired the rights to develop and market the approved multiple sclerosis (MS) therapy Ponvory (ponesimod) outside the U.S. and Canada. The global rights were acquired from Actelion Pharmaceuticals, the therapy’s original developer and now part of Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has designated SetPoint Medical’s neurostimulator a breakthrough device for the treatment of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). This designation is intended to accelerate the development of devices intending to more effectively treat or diagnose life-threatening or chronically debilitating diseases than standard approaches.

Fatigue is a significant predictor of worse health-related quality of life in adults with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), a study reports. High levels of fatigue were significantly linked with worse physical and mental health, including cognitive impairments, depression, and anxiety. The findings suggest…

Tyruko (natalizumab), the first biosimilar of Tysabri, is now available in Germany for adults with highly active relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). As a biosimilar, Tyruko has the same safety and efficacy profile, mechanism of action, and pharmacological properties as Tysabri. Biosimilars are typically sold at lower prices than their reference medication,…

Rocco Mangel, the founding partner of Rocco’s Tacos & Tequila Bar, is joining the Walk MS: West Palm Beach 2024, in Florida, to raise funds for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS). Walk MS events, taking place in numerous locations in the U.S., focus on raising disease…

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has notified Vanda Pharmaceuticals that it will grant a new patent covering the use of Ponvory (ponesimod), an approved oral treatment for relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), that will span nearly two decades, the company announced. The upcoming patent specifically…

Living with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is linked to a significantly lower rate of developing multiple sclerosis (MS) — including among people exposed to antiretroviral treatment, or medicines that can stop the HIV virus from replicating — a new study found. The rate of MS was particularly reduced…

Sudo Biosciences has raised $116 million in a Series B financing to support the clinical development of two inhibitors of the TYK2 enzyme for treating neurological conditions like multiple sclerosis (MS) and skin-related diseases. One of the TYK2 inhibitors, given orally, is designed to efficiently reach the brain…

The rate of brain atrophy, or shrinkage, and changes in brain lesion volume in the first years of treatment with Rebif (interferon beta-1a) may help predict which patients with early multiple sclerosis (MS) will receive a clinically definite diagnosis, a study suggests. The brain radiologic measures may also…

Tiziana Life Sciences has dosed the first patient in a Phase 2a clinical trial testing its foralumab nasal spray in people with nonactive secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS). The trial will include about 54 participants, enrolled across six clinical sites. Patients will be randomly assigned to receive one of two…