clinical trials

President Obama’s signing of the 21st Century Cures Act on Dec. 13 is expected to bring real change to those living with multiple sclerosis (MS). The legislation will lead to better research and clinical trials. It also puts increased weight on the role patients play in developing treatments for their…

Health Canada has approved Zinbryta (daclizumab) as a treatment for adults with active relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), Biogen and AbbVie announced. Zinbryta is a long-acting injection therapy, self-administered monthly, for patients who have had an inadequate response to at least two other MS therapies. “ZINBRYTA™ is the first once-monthly, self-administered treatment…

AXIM Biotechnologies  announced it has secured financing from private sources to continue its testing of medical cannabinoid products as potential treatments for multiple indications, including pain and spasticity in people with multiple sclerosis (MS). Specifically, AXIM  is testing pharmaceutical delivery systems and active ingredients for its medical marijuana line. “This financing provides us with…

Apitope and Merck KGaA announced that they have entered into an exclusive agreement regarding ATX-MS-1467, a potential disease-modifying therapy for  multiple sclerosis (MS). Under its terms, Apitope will regain full global rights over ATX-MS-1467, as well as all clinical data related to the compound. In 2009, the company granted exclusive global rights to Merck KGaA to develop…

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently announced policy changes designed to make information about clinical trials of investigational drugs, biologics and products more widely available to the public, issuing amended rules that specify the requirements for registering clinical trials and for submitting summary results to its ClinicalTrials.gov website. The…

This chewing gum handout in the exhibit area of the recent Drug Information Association (DIA) 2016 meeting says it all from the pharmaceutical company perspective – recruiting patients for their studies is often a distasteful and difficult process. While I appreciated the gum in this package, this image left a…

When I see a new drug for MS come to market, I only think of the company behind that product – it could be one of the big names such as Genentech, Genzyme, EMD Serono, Biogen, or one of the many other players in the field.  I never stopped to…

Genmab announced plans to soon begin a Phase 3 clinical trial program assessing the subcutaneous formulation of ofatumumab as a potential treatment for relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS). The company, working in collaboration with its partner Novartis, will begin enrolling patients in September in trials that will evaluate the efficacy and safety of ofatumumab compared…

Arrien Pharmaceuticals has initiated Phase 1 clinical trials of their first agent, ARN-6039, a molecule that targets a specific subset of immune cells called T helper 17 (Th17), for the potential treatment of patients with relapsing, remitting, and progressive multiple sclerosis (MS). A growing body of evidence has suggested a…

With an interest multiple sclerosis (MS) before even starting college, Dr. Ellen Mowry has spent her entire research career investigating the disease. Her epidemiological studies led her to indications that vitamin D might be particularly important for people with MS, and she now dedicates her research to the topic — knowledge she will share at the…

Genentech announced that it will present new data from three Phase 3 clinical trials of its experimental multiple sclerosis (MS) therapy Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) at the 68th annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) being held in Vancouver, Canada, from April 15–21, 2016. Additionally, results of a new endpoint for…

The 31st Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS) is currently being held in Barcelona, from 7 to 10 of October, 2015. As the biggest scientific event focused on Multiple Sclerosis, researchers and clinicians from around the world, with more than 8,000 participants, gather…

MediciNova, Inc., a publicly-traded biopharmaceutical company developing novel, small-molecule therapeutics for the treatment of diseases with unmet medical needs, recently announced that the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) notified the company of full enrollment of their ongoing clinical study evaluating ibudilast (MN-166) for the treatment of progressive…