clinical trials

A new study presented last week during the American Academy of Neurology’s 67th Annual Meeting in Washington, DC provides new treatment strategies for multiple sclerosis (MS) using a monoclonal antibody already used in some MS patients. MS is a disease characterized by the destruction of insulating covers on nerve cells…

Actelion Pharma recently announced that it will accelerate the launch of clinical trials involving its lead drug candidate ponesimod, an oral, selective sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P1). This decision came after a group of scientists working on different phases of clinical trials for the therapy observed mostly positive effects of ponesimod in terms of efficacy, efficiency…

MedDay, a French biotechnology company that studies treatments for nervous system disorders, including multiple sclerosis, announced that MD1003, a highly-concentrated biotin, is effective for treatment of progressive multiple sclerosis, according to results from a recent Phase III trial. MD1003 may have two beneficial effects: 1) increasing myelin, the fatty nerve-insulating…

MedDay recently announced in a news release that it is preparing to release the design and results of its clinical trial to assess the safety and efficacy of MD1003 in primary and secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) treatment. Data on the Phase III clinical trial (MS-SPI) will be presented…

MedDay, a Paris, France based biotechnology company specializing in treatment of neurological disorders, has released more information regarding the design of its (MS-SPI) clinical trial that is investigating the efficacy and safety of the investigational medicine MD1003 in treatment of primary and secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (MS). Progressive…

A recent study published in PLOS ONE provides new insights into the relationship between the immune system and neurodegeneration and clinical disability in multiple sclerosis (MS). A team of researchers led by Dr. Shahin Aeinehband from the Neuroimmunology Unit at the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden looked at the association between…

Researchers at the IRCCS Centro Neurolesi “Bonino-Pulejo” and the University of Messina in Italy have performed a review on the immunomodulatory activity reported for statins in the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) and on clinical trial results. The study was published in the journal Pharmacological…

A major trial to investigate different ways to deal with attention and memory problems in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients will take place at Nottingham in the United Kingdom. The Cognitive Rehabilitation for Attention and Memory in people with Multiple Sclerosis (CRAMMS) study will focus on these MS related symptoms…

Myelin — the fatty substance that wraps around nerve cells — is lost in multiple sclerosis (MS). Is there any way to get it back or to stop the deterioration of myelin? Researchers at MedDay Pharmaceuticals think that their drug may provide the solution. Known as MD1003, the…

A study from German researchers might help to determine how multiple sclerosis is assessed in treatment trials. Published February 6 in the journal PLoS ONE, the study is titled “Regression to the Mean and Predictors of MRI Disease Activity in RRMS Placebo Cohorts –…

What may work better than existing drugs to treat severe multiple sclerosis? Stem cells. A phase 2 clinical study from an international group of research centers compared head-to-head autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (AHSCT) and mitoxantrone in treating patients with secondary progressive or relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. The findings showed that…

Under development at Innate Immunotherapeutics is a special drug candidate to treat secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS). Currently, no viable therapies exist for SPMS — only less-effective means to treat SPMS patients through drugs designed for relapse-remitting multiple sclerosis — making the prospect of Innate’s experimental SPMS therapy a…

Nonprofit organization, Accelerated Cure Project for Multiple Sclerosis, is launching a national campaign called iConquerMS, which was designed by and for multiple sclerosis patients to raise awareness of the importance of health data and supporting research. On the iConquerMS portal, patients can…

Phoenix, Arizona-based Creative Medical Health (CMH) has just announced it has submitted a patent application for its proprietary mesenchymal stem cell pipeline product, indicated for autoimmune diseases. The company is already preparing to launch the product into its first line of clinical tests, which will…

Acorda Therapeutics, Inc. has released results from a Phase 1 clinical trial of rHIgM22 for multiple sclerosis, showing that the medication is safe and produces few side effects. rHIgM22 is a medication that may induce the re-wrapping of the myelin sheath that surround nerve cells,…

MediciNova, Inc., has announced the acceptance of an abstract describing their ongoing Phase 2b clinical trial of MN-166 (ibudilast) in progressive multiple sclerosis (MS). The poster is to be presented at the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) 67th Annual Meeting, April 18 – 25, 2015 in Washington, DC. The presentation is titled…

Drug development company Rock Creek Pharmaceuticals, Inc. recently announced that a new clinical trial application with the United Kingdom’s Medicines Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has been approved. The company is set to proceed with a Phase I study of its flagship pipeline product, Anatabine Citrate, a chemical that is found naturally…

Biopharmaceutical company Receptos, Inc. has enrolled the first participant with relapsing multiple sclerosis (RMS) in its SUNBEAM phase 3 trial, which will evaluate the potential therapy RPC1063 in patients who suffer from the disease. The company’s phase 3 RADIANCE trial, also…

Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. released the first results from its phase 1b trial that for the evaluation of an oral drug candidate called APD334 for the treatment of autoimmune diseases, such as multiple sclerosis (MS). The multiple ascending dose clinical trial demonstrated encouraging findings about the drug, which is designed to target the sphingosine…

Biogen Idec, a Cambridge Massachusetts Biotechnology company, has released results from its Phase 2 acute optic neuritis (AON) RENEW trial. The trial tested anti-LINGO-1, a medication that restores myelin — a fatty substance that facilitates nerve cell impulses by wrapping around them and providing insulation. The trial results indicate that anti-LINGO-1…

Results from a Phase 3 clinical trial entitled “AVANCE” revealed promising clinical outcomes in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis treated for one year with peg interferon beta-1a. The analysis was published in the journal BMC Neurology, in a study entitled “Effect of peg interferon beta-1a on MRI measures and…

Biopharmaceutical company Receptos, Inc. is enrolling the first patient in their SUNBEAM phase 3 trial to evaluate the company’s investigational therapy for the treatment of patients with relapsing multiple sclerosis (RMS) and ulcerative colitis (UC), called RPC1063. In addition, Receptos has recently started its phase 3 …

Mapi Pharma Ltd., a development stage pharmaceutical company specializing in the development of high-barrier to entry and high-added value generic drugs, announced it has treated the first patient in the Phase IIa study of GA Depot for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). Lead investigator Professor Ariel Miller, M.D., Ph.D., Head of the Multiple Sclerosis & Brain…

Novartis International recently provided an update on its fingolimod Phase III trial evaluating the use of the drug in primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS), reporting that the study did not reveal any significant benefits of prescribing fingolimod over a placebo. However, results regarding…

The “2014 Multiple Sclerosis Therapeutic Update,” published in the journal Neurohospitalist by author Bruce Cree, MD, PhD, MCR, provides a positive outlook on the state of current treatments and research for future treatments of multiple sclerosis. A host of new therapies, as well as common-place…

Lexington, MA-based biopharmaceutical company Xenetic Biosciences, Inc. has just announced its new license partner Pharmsynthez has completed dosing in its ongoing Phase 2 clinical trial with pipeline product MyeloXen™ for relapsing remitting and secondary progressive (SPMS) multiple sclerosis. The MyeloXen trial is currently underway in Russia with…

The Cognitive Rehabilitation for Attention and Memory trial (CRAMMS), a major study to be conducted on patients suffering from multiple sclerosis, was recently awarded £1,167,000 ($1,828,000) by the British National Health Service (NHS), through its Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Program. The study, which is expected to be the largest trial of its…

Upper limb spasticity and lower leg cramps and spasms, two conditions that affect patients with multiple sclerosis, are being treated in separate clinical trials with results from both showing positive benefits. Dysport (abobotulinumtoxinA), from Ipsen Biopharmaceuticals, Inc., and transient receptor potential (TRP) activators, from…

New Zealand and Australia-based Innate Immunotherapeutics Limited, a medical biotechnology company with offices in Sydney and Auckland, has issued an update regarding its Phase 2B trial for secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) and other recent activities. The Phase 2B MIS416 trial Patient dosing with MIS416…

Drug manufacturers Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. and Active Biotech announced that they expanding the ongoing clinical research program for the study of laquinimod, a potential treatment for primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS), as the companies are now initiating the ARPEGGIO trial. In addition, Teva has also announced…