Ocrevus

New Ocrevus Findings Show Benefits to Range of MS Patients: Interview with Genentech’s Dr. Hideki Garren

Genentech shared new insights into the workings of Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) and its effectiveness in reducing disease activity and slowing progression in relapsing and primary progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) at the recent 3rd Congress of the European Academy of Neurology (EAN). The new findings, previously reported here, built on analyses of information gathered during the three Phase 3 clinical trials assessing Ocrevus' safety and efficacy, as well as through monitoring patients in extension studies. The studies showed that nearly 40 percent of Ocrevus-treated relapsing patients and nearly 30 percent of primary progressive patients achieved NEPAD during the Phase 3 trials. In contrast, only 21.5 percent of those treated with Rebif and 9.4 percent receiving placebo achieved NEPAD ā€” figures that demonstrate Ocrevusā€™ impact on patientsā€™ lives, as well as Ocrevusā€™ ability to slow the decline in walking ability and other types of disabilities are comparable between patients with relapsing and primary progressive disease ā€” data that demonstrate that the treatment acts on disease mechanisms that drive disability in both disease forms. How these effects play out in the long-term is the subject of ongoing research, as Genentech continues to follow these patients in an extension study. In addition, Ocrevus' prescription label strongly advises against pregnancy while on the treatment. Despite precautions, some women became pregnant during the trials. One of the meeting presentations narrated outcomes of these pregnancies; one healthy baby born at term and two ongoing pregnancies in women exposed to the drug. But while Genentech monitors women who become pregnant while on Ocrevus, the number of reported pregnancies is too small to draw conclusions about the treatmentā€™s safety in pregnancy, and researchers do not know if Ocrevus also depletes B-cells in the fetus or in the baby born to a treated woman.

MS Researcher Stephen Hauser, MD, Awarded the 2017 Taubman Prize

Stephen L. Hauser, MD, director of theĀ University of California, San Francisco (UCSF)‘s Weill Institute for Neurosciences,Ā has been awarded the 2017 Taubman Prize for Excellence in Translational Medical Research. Recognized for scientific work that challenged the way multiple sclerosis (MS) is regarded, Hauserā€™s discoveries have opened new therapeutic…

Ongoing Ocrevus Trials Seek More Knowledge of Treatment Effects and MS Patients’ Benefits

Ocrevus (ocrelizumab), a recently approvedĀ therapy for relapsing and primary progressive multiple sclerosis (MS),Ā is now on the U.S. market, but research intoĀ itsĀ use is far from over. Several clinical trials, sponsored by Ocrevus’ developer Genentech or its parent company Roche, are looking at various aspectsĀ of the treatment. Multiple Sclerosis…

PML Found in Ocrevus-Treated Patient Who Had Used Tysabri for 3 Previous Years

A multiple sclerosis (MS) patient treated in Germany withĀ Ocrevus (ocrelizumab)Ā has developed the dreaded brain infection progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML).Ā But it is not clear whether the recently approvedĀ Genentech/Roche-developed treatmentĀ is the cause. The patient took the last dose of a three-year course of Tysabri (natalizumab)Ā in February. Tysabri is…

Ocrevus Market Entry Already Changing Dynamics in MS Treatment Choices, Spherix Analysis Suggests

Multiple sclerosis (MS) patients are largely moving away from injectable drugs and towards oral treatments when they switch from first to second-line MS therapies. ButĀ that might change with theĀ introduction of Ocrevus (ocrelizumab), whichĀ has becomeĀ the drug of choice for manyĀ neurologists advising patients on drug switches. The real-world analysis by…

Switching from Rituxan to Ocrevus: An Interview with Dr. Timothy Vollmer on Both MS Treatments

A multiple sclerosis (MS) trial now underway in Colorado is assessing the safety and tolerability ofĀ switching fromĀ Rituxan (rituximab)Ā toĀ Ocrevus (ocrelizumab),Ā and its lead investigator, Dr. Timothy L. Vollmer, largely expects no problems. The neurologist believes the two GenentechĀ therapies ā€”Ā both antibody-based drugsĀ that target the CD20 molecule on B-cells ā€”…

Are Ocrevus and Rituxan Similar? Neurologists Respond to Patients’ Concerns

While manyĀ multiple sclerosis patients celebrated the recent approval of Ocrevus (ocrelizumab), others argued that the drug is largelyĀ a rebranded version ofĀ rituximab. Rituximab ā€” sold as Rituxan for indications like non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma,Ā chronic lymphocytic leukemia, andĀ rheumatoid arthritis ā€” is used off-label to treat relapsing MS. In online forums and social media,…

4 Ways Ocrevus Can Improve Your Life

It’s been less than a month since Ocrevus was approved by the FDA, and the buzz hasn’t died down. Though there is some trepidation, the MS community is incredibly excited about what the new “game-changing”Ā medication can do for patients all across the country. Here are just a few…

Firefighter with Relapsing MS on Ocrevus: ‘I Have Really Good Days and I Have Bad Days’

Texas firefighter Wayne Donovan is amongĀ theĀ estimatedĀ 250,000 to 350,000 Americans with multiple sclerosis (MS). He enrolled in a clinical trial testing Ocrevus (ocrelizumab), which theĀ Ā U.S. Food and Drug Administration recentlyĀ approvedĀ as the first therapyĀ for both relapsing and primary progressive forms of MS. Donovan was diagnosed in 2011 at…

UCSF Neurologist Played Key Role in MS Research Turning to B-Cells, Essential Step to Ocrevus

Dr. Stephen Hauser, chair of the neurology department at the University of California San Francisco, was instrumental in the early research and laterĀ clinical trials that ultimately led toĀ Ocrevus (ocrelizumab), the first therapyĀ approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)Ā for bothĀ relapsing MSĀ (RMS) and primary progressive multiple sclerosis…

Ocrevus Holds Promise, But Needs to Prove Itself in ‘Long Term,’ Says Dr. Robert Lisak with CMSC

Interest inĀ  Ocrevus (ocrelizumab), the first FDA-approved treatment for bothĀ relapsing and primary progressive multiple sclerosis, isĀ running high among patients and the organization representing them ā€” as, arguably, are expectations ofĀ its use. But how do physicians involved in MS care view the newcomer? Dr. Robert Lisak (Photo courtesy…

What Every MS Patient Should Know About Ocrevus and Its Use

With the recent approval of Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) for both primary progressive and relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS), interest in the medication is peaking.Ā To helpĀ readers of Multiple Sclerosis News TodayĀ better understandĀ this new medication and how it works, as well issues dealingĀ with access, use, and potential side effects, here is aĀ summary…

Diplomat Pharmacy Chosen to Dispense Ocrevus to MS Patients Across US

Diplomat Pharmacy, the largest independent specialty pharmacy in the U.S., has been selected to dispenseĀ Ocrevus (ocrelizumab), a limited-distribution drug,Ā to people withĀ relapsingĀ  andĀ primary progressive multiple sclerosis. Ocrevus was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on March 28, becoming the first therapy approved for both RMS and…