MS News That Caught My Eye Last Week: Kesimpta, Ocrevus and Chickenpox, Generic Tecfidera, UTIs

FDA Approves Kesimpta, B-cell Targeting Therapy for Relapsing MS

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval of Kesimpta (ofatumumab) this month is a pretty big deal. Kesimpta is a once-a-month injectable disease-modifying therapy. There’s nothing else like it, because Kesimpta targets B-cells in the immune system. Until now, only infusions, such as Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) and Lemtrada (alemtuzumab), have done that. After a first injection, Kesimpta can be self-administered. It seems to me that the efficacy of a B-cell attacking medication combined with the ease of self-injection should be a winner. Would you agree?

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Novartis‘ Kesimpta (ofatumumab) as a self-administered treatment for adults with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), meaning those with clinically isolated syndrome (CIS), relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS), and active secondary progressive MS (SPMS).

According to Novartis, Kesimpta is the first approved MS therapy targeting B-cells that can be taken at home via an under-the-skin (subcutaneous) injection, using an autoinjector pen, once a month. The medication is expected to be available to patients in the U.S. in early September.

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Ocrevus Cancels RRMS Patient’s Immunity to Chickenpox Virus, Case Study Finds

Many of us had chickenpox as a child, and some have been inoculated against it, creating immunity. But here’s a report of one man who, after being treated for his MS with Ocrevus (ocrelizumab), lost his immunity to the virus that causes chickenpox and shingles. While this is just a single case study, you might want to ask your neurologist about it if you’re being treated with Ocrevus or are considering that therapy.

Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) eliminated the immunity, acquired through vaccination, to the varicella-zoster virus — the virus that causes chickenpox and shingles — in a man with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), a case study reported.

Its authors recommended that MS patients being treated with Ocrevus be retested for immunity against the varicella-zoster virus.

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Mylan Launching Tecfidera Generic in US

A recent court ruling that invalidated the patent protecting Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate) has cleared the way for Mylan to begin distributing a generic version of that DMT. Without the ruling against Tecfidera’s manufacturer, Biogen, a generic wasn’t likely to become available before the patent’s expiration in 2028. Biogen says it intends to appeal the ruling, but Mylan has begun marketing its generic version anyway.

Mylan announced the launch of a first generic version of Tecfidera, a treatment for relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS).

The generic, now approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), is the first generic of any MS treatment available in an oral solid — capsule or tablet — form in the U.S.

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Better Efforts Needed to Prevent Urinary Tract Infections in MS Patients

Urinary tract infections frequently are a problem for people with MS, due to the difficulty many of us have urinating or emptying our bladder completely. So, it seems common sense to think that treatments to improve URIs are needed. If you had any doubt, here’s a study that backs up that conclusion.

Urinary tract infections are a common cause of hospitalization among people with multiple sclerosis (MS), especially older patients with progressive disease, and more attention should be given to their bladder, catheter, and general physical care, a U.K. study reported.

These infections are often linked to an emergency hospital admission, and carry a risk of death as well as higher costs to the healthcare system, its researchers wrote.

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