March 26, 2021 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Rituximab Fails to Lessen Brain Inflammation in Progressive MS Trial Injecting rituximab ā a cancer therapy sometimes used inĀ multiple sclerosis ā into the spinal canal of people with progressive forms of MS did not demonstrably lower inflammation or improve clinical conditions, according to the results of a small trial. “Contrary to the initial high expectations, no clear-cut effect on…
May 5, 2017 News by Patricia Silva, PhD 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 āĀ both antibody-based drugsĀ that target the CD20 molecule on B-cells ā…
April 19, 2017 News by Patricia Silva, PhD 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,…