June 30, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Long-term Zeposia May Help Cognitive Function in Patients, Data Show Long-term treatment with Zeposia (ozanimod) stabilizes or even improves cognitive function in adults with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), particularly among those with greater brain volumes. Thatās according to five years of data from the completed SUNBEAM Phase 3 clinical trial (NCT02294058) and the ongoing…
February 18, 2022 Columns by Ed Tobias AXS Map Helps Crowdsource Venue Accessibility Across the Globe If you’re like me, you’re always wondering what obstacles you’ll need to overcome if you eat at a new restaurant or visit another venue you’ve never been to before. Will you physically be able to enter? If so, can you navigate once inside? Are the bathrooms accessible? You could…
October 13, 2021 News by Hawken Miller MS in Harmony Makes Music Therapy More Accessible to Patients Whether we are aware of it or not, music infiltrates every part of our daily lives. It may be as subtle and inadvertent as music playing in the background at the grocery store or as obvious and intentional as jamming to tunes on our own playlists. But music also can…
May 17, 2021 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD NICE Again Says No to Adding Zeposia to Health System for England and Wales The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has maintained its initial draft recommendation and will not recommend that Zeposia (ozanimod) be added to the National Health Service (NHS) of England and Wales. This final decision on the cost effectiveness of the oral therapy means Zeposia will…
May 5, 2021 News by Steve Bryson, PhD Relapsing MS Patients May Fare Better on Zeposia Than Aubagio Treatment with Zeposia (ozanimod) significantly reduces the risk of relapse, decreases the proportion of patients experiencing a relapse, and has a better safety profile than Aubagio (teriflunomide) for people with relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS), according to an indirect comparison of clinical trial data.
March 16, 2021 News by Mary Chapman Foot Drop Device Earns Innovation Challenge Prize As winner of the Lyfebulb and Bristol Myers Squibb Innovation Challenge in multiple sclerosis (MS), Evolution Devices will use the $25,000 in prize money to further develop a smart stimulation therapy that seeks to improve patient mobility. The innovative electrical device under development by Pierluigi Mantovani, co-founder…
March 4, 2021 News by Teresa Carvalho, MS BMS Grants to National MS Society, Others Aim for Diversity in Care and Trials The National Multiple Sclerosis SocietyĀ was among 56 nonprofit organizations chosen byĀ Bristol Myers SquibbĀ to share an $11 million award supporting projects that promote health equity and access to better care across ethnically and racially diverse and underserved communities in the U.S. Other awarded projects aim to promote diversity…
February 25, 2021 News by Diana Campelo Delgado MS in Harmony is First Digital Music Therapy for MS Patients Bristol Myers SquibbĀ (BMS) and the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) are partnering with singer and actor Ben Platt, and dancer, choreographer and actor Courtney Platt, to launch MS in Harmony, the first digital music therapy for patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). āWe’re thrilled to have the chance…
February 11, 2021 News by Aisha I Abdullah PhD 2021 Innovation Challenge Finalists Announced Lyfebulb and Bristol Myers Squibb have announced the 10 finalists who will compete virtually for a $25,000 award to support the development of innovations that address unmet needs in multiple sclerosis (MS). The…
February 9, 2021 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Zeposia Tablets Approved in Scotland to Treat Active RRMS The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) has approvedĀ Zeposia (ozanimod)Ā for the treatment of active relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). Zeposia is sold as a tablet, to be taken by mouth once daily. The SMC has recommended that Zeposia be prescribed for people with RRMS who experience relapses or have evidence of…
January 25, 2021 News by Joana Carvalho, PhD NICE Opposes Zeposia Being Added to RRMS Therapies in UK’s Health Service The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) does not recommend Zeposia (ozanimod) be available at low or no cost through the National Health Service (NHS) to treat adults with active relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS)Ā living in England and Wales. In a recentĀ draft recommendation, NICE stated thatĀ …
November 26, 2020 News by Mary Chapman New $100M Program Aims to Improve Diversity in Clinical Trials A new $100-million programĀ aims to improve the diversity of participants in U.S. clinical trials with the ultimate goal of achieving better health outcomes and parity in care for underserved patient populations. The initiative seeks to extend the reach of clinical studies to underserved populations in the nationās urban and rural…
November 4, 2020 News by Mary Chapman Innovation Challenge Seeks Solutions From Entrepreneurs in MS Community A $25,000 contest is inviting entrepreneurs who have multiple sclerosis (MS), or take care of someone with MS, to pitch their non-therapeutic solutions for people with the neurodegenerative disorder. The virtual Innovation Challenge, which takes place in March 2021, is part of a collaboration between patient-powered platform Lyfebulb…
October 8, 2020 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Health Canada Approves Oral Zeposia for Adults With RRMS Health Canada has approvedĀ Zeposia (ozanimod), an oral daily treatment for people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) in the country. Approval does not assure that Zeposia will be available to Canadian patients at no or low cost, as publicly funded prescription plans are largely administered by each…
September 22, 2020 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD Gilenya Remains Favorite S1P Receptor Modulator in US, But Zeposia May Catch Up, Survey Finds Among oral sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) receptor modulators for multiple sclerosis (MS), Novartisās GilenyaĀ (fingolimod) remains physiciansā favorite in the U.S., but prescriptions of recently-launched Bristol Myers Squibbās Zeposia (ozanimod) are beginning to rise,Ā according to a survey conducted by Spherix Global Insights. Also, COVID-19Ā not…
September 14, 2020 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News That Caught My Eye Last Week: COVID-19 Survey, MSVirtual2020, Zeposia, B-cells COVID-19 Pandemic Had Minimal Emotional Impact in Progressive MS Patients, Survey Finds I beg to differ. I have secondary progressive MS, and COVID-19 has bummed me out. I haven’t been in an exercise room since May. My wife and I haven’t had a meal in a restaurant since late…
September 3, 2020 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD #MSVirtual2020 ā Zeposia Still Prevents Relapses in Relapsing MS Patients After 3 Years, Trial Data Show Zeposia (ozanimod) oral capsules continue to safely and effectively prevent relapses and disability progression in people with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), according to three-year data from a Phase 3 extension clinical trial. āGaining insight into long-term therapeutic outcomes can enable clinicians to identify the most appropriate…
July 8, 2020 News by Mary Chapman BMS, Dragonfly Working on Immune System-targeting Therapies for MS Dragonfly Therapeutics andĀ Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) announced an expanded partnership focused on discovering and developing treatment candidates for multiple sclerosis (MS) and neuroinflammation targets. The companies have been working together in therapy research and development for cancer and autoimmune diseases using Dragonflyās proprietary immunotherapy targeting platform.
June 5, 2020 Columns by Ed Tobias Another Medication, Zeposia, Joins the MS Treatment Arsenal By my unofficial count, disease-modifying therapy No. 19 has just become available to people with multiple sclerosis in the U.S. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Zeposia (ozanimod) in late March. While pharmaceutical companies usually rush to make newly approved medications available to patients, with COVID-19 raging,…
June 3, 2020 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Zeposia, Daily Oral Treatment for Relapsing MS, Now Available in US ZeposiaĀ (ozanimod), a newly approved oral capsule treatment for relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), is now commercially available in the United States, its manufacturer, Bristol Myers Squibb,Ā announced. “We are pleased to now bring Zeposia, an important new once daily treatment option, to [relapsing]…
May 27, 2020 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Zeposia Receives European Commission Approval for Adults with Active RRMS The European Commission (EC) has approved Zeposia (ozanimod) for the treatment of adults with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) who have active disease based on clinical or imaging features. The EC decision follows a positive opinionĀ issued in March by the EuropeanĀ Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP).
March 30, 2020 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD CHMP Favors Zeposia (Ozanimod) as Oral Treatment for Active RRMS in EU TheĀ Committee for Medicinal Products for Human UseĀ (CHMP) has recommended Zeposia (ozanimod) oral capsules to be approved in the European Union (EU) to treat adults with active relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). Opinions released by CHMP, an arm of theĀ European Medicines AgencyĀ (EMA), are generally accepted by the European Commission,…
March 26, 2020 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD FDA Approves Zeposia (Ozanimod), Oral Therapy for All with Relapsing MS The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved ZeposiaĀ (ozanimod) oral capsules to treat adults with relapsing forms ofĀ multiple sclerosisĀ (MS), includingĀ relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS), Ā active secondary progressive MS (SPMS), and clinically isolated syndromeĀ (CIS). Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, however, when it will arrive in clinics…
March 6, 2020 Columns by Ed Tobias FDA Approval of Investigational DMT Ozanimod May Be Weeks Away By the end of this month, another disease-modifying therapy (DMT) for multiple sclerosis may be available in the U.S. Ozanimod is an investigational daily pill for the treatment of relapsing MS. The Food and Drug Administration is expected to decide…
March 3, 2020 News by Ana Pena PhD #ACTRIMS2020 – Ozanimod May Ease Inflammation While Retaining Some Immune Defenses Ozanimod ā an investigational oral therapy up for approval to treat relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS) ā lowers the number of white blood cells circulating in the blood, supporting its ability to ease inflammation in the brain and spinal cord. But this treatment also does not affect all…