The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a new generic form of glatiramer acetate injection, a treatment for relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) that was originally approved under the brand name Copaxone. The generic was developed by Zydus Lifesciences in collaboration with Chemi S.p.A.,…

People living with multiple sclerosis know that the medications used to treat it are expensive. According to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, the median annual price of brand-name disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) last year was $91,835. Five of them carried a price tag of more than $100,000 a year. Many pharmaceutical…

Treatment with Copaxone (glatiramer acetate), an approved therapy for relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), while breastfeeding does not appear to be harmful to infants in their first years, a study has found. Investigators observed no differences between infants whose mothers were taking Copaxone and those whose mothers weren’t…

The U.S. Justice Department has the manufacturer of Copaxone (glatiramer acetate injection) in its crosshairs, and the outcome could have a much greater reach. It appears the case could directly affect the copay help many of us receive for our medications and the patient services some drug companies provide.

Forced by medication costs to choose between regularly taking their medications or buying groceries, some people with multiple sclerosis are choosing the groceries. Some are skipping doses and others have stopped taking their disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) entirely. This troubling news is…

People with relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS) have a better prognosis and a slower progression to disability since the introduction of disease-modifying treatments (DMTs) some 20 years ago, according to a retrospective study. The study, “Outcomes in a Modern Cohort of Treated Multiple Sclerosis Patients Followed from Diagnosis Up…

Tysabri (natalizumab), an effective T-cell targeting treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS), seems to also promote the activation of pro-inflammatory immune B-cells in people with this disease, a study found. The study, “Natalizumab promotes activation and pro-inflammatory differentiation of peripheral B cells in multiple sclerosis patients,” was published in the…

Newer disease-modifying treatments for multiple sclerosis (MS) are effective but also known to carry a greater risk of infections in a patient group already more likely to be troubled by infections — and this higher risk is particularly evident in treatment with rituximab, a DMT often used off-label in…

Careful profiling of inflammatory markers in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of multiple sclerosis patients, coupled with standard exams and scans, helps in understanding disease evolution and treatment response, a case report suggests. It followed a relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) patient whose inflammatory markers in the CSF remained high over time, and…

Medical Marijuana ‘Can Help Everyone,’ Says Director at Maryland Cannabis Facility Keeping in mind that the person quoted in this article, Mr. Castleman, is growing medical marijuana to make money, I wouldn’t expect him to say anything else. On the other hand, I firmly believe that some forms of…