Disease modifying therapies (DMT)

Long-term disability outcomes tend to be better in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) who are treated early on with highly effective therapies, a study based on patient registry data indicates. The study, “Long-term disability trajectories in relapsing multiple sclerosis patients treated with early intensive or…

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…

Scientists Discover Enzyme Needed for Activating Myelin Repair Here’s encouraging news for those interested in remyelination — and who isn’t interested in repairing our frayed MS nerves? Yes, it’s only a mouse study, but maybe it’s the starting point for finding a way to use a particular enzyme to…

People with  multiple sclerosis (MS) who are using a disease-modifying therapy — and are at a younger age — when they have a relapse within the first three years of their disease course are more likely to recover completely, lowering their risk of long-term, 10-year disability, a study suggests. Complete recovery…

Stem Cell Transplant Trial Enrolls First Patient in Minnesota It looks as if we’re moving closer to the day when stem cell transplants become an approved MS treatment in the U.S., at least I hope so. A trial is enrolling subjects to test the stem cells against several…

Nearly a third of people with multiple sclerosis (MS) who are younger than 40 are not being treated with disease-modifying treatments (DMTs), even though younger individuals are expected to get the most benefit from DMTs, according to a new study. “DMTs for MS are more frequently used at…

Nasal Foralumab Led to Promising Immune Effects in Phase 1 Trial It sure would be nice to have a nasal spray to treat MS, but this research is still in its early stages. This study looked only at the safety and preliminary effectiveness of nasal foralumab on healthy volunteers.

Low levels of serum neurofilament light chains (sNfL) prior to treatment predicts an optimal response to Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate) and reduced immune cell overactivity in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, a study reports. The investigators noted the…

Mayzent (siponimod) and Zeposia (ozanimod), the two sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) receptor modulators most recently approved in Canada for treating multiple sclerosis (MS), showed strong launches in the country, according to the latest Spherix Global Insights’ report. However, due to several internal and external factors, sustained relevance of these…

Are you being treated with a disease-modifying therapy (DMT) and wondering how it might affect the efficacy of an mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine? If so, a recent study may provide some clarity. The study, published in Therapeutic Advances in Neurological Disorders, looked at 125 MS patients either being treated with…

B-cell-depleting therapies given to adults with multiple sclerosis (MS) affect the production of antibodies targeting SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, a study reported. This finding has “consequences” for immunity in this patient group, whether that immunity follows SARS-CoV-2 infection or…

Sometimes it seems as if people with MS are asked to flip a coin to make what’s arguably the most important decision about their treatment: which disease-modifying therapy (DMT) to use. More than 20 DMTs are approved in the U.S., similar to what’s available in the rest of the…

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.

People with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) using approved oral disease-modifying therapies generally tolerate the treatments well, with real-world adverse event profiles similar to those seen in clinical trials, an analysis of U.S. data indicates. Results also suggest high adherence to these therapies — meaning patients are usually taking the therapies…

FDA Rejects Under-the-skin Tysabri for Relapsing MS I expect this decision will be a disappointment for those who had hoped to be able to self-administer highly effective Tysabri as a shot rather than an IV infusion. But I switched from Avonex to Tysabri, because after a few years of…

TG Therapeutics has expanded its contract with Samsung Biologics to manufacture ublituximab, an investigational therapy for relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). “Samsung is the global leader in biologics manufacturing and we are happy to have them as our partner as we look forward to the potential commercialization…

Editor’s note: The Multiple Sclerosis News Today team is providing in-depth coverage of the 2021 Virtual AAN Annual Meeting, held April 17–22. Go here to read the latest stories from the conference. A novel method to calculate how long it takes therapies for multiple sclerosis (MS) to become fully effective…

Editor’s note: The Multiple Sclerosis News Today team is providing in-depth coverage of the 2021 Virtual AAN Annual Meeting, April 17–22. Go here to read the latest stories from the conference. Treating multiple sclerosis (MS) in its earlier stages with Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) can substantially lower disease activity and lessen damage…

Editor’s note: The Multiple Sclerosis News Today team is providing in-depth coverage of the 2021 Virtual AAN Annual Meeting, April 17–22. Go here to read the latest stories from the conference. A majority of the relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) patients given Mavenclad (cladribine) tablets in the CLARITY Phase 3 trial did…

Editor’s note: The Multiple Sclerosis News Today team is providing in-depth coverage of the 2021 Virtual AAN Annual Meeting, April 17–22. Go here to read the latest stories from the conference. Disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) that target CD20 are associated with worse outcomes from COVID-19 in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, an…

As comic Rodney Dangerfield might have said, older people with MS “just don’t get no respect.” By older, I mean those of us who are 55 and up. By respect, I mean from researchers and some neurologists. So, as I approach my 73rd birthday, I have to tip my cap…

Editor’s note: The Multiple Sclerosis News Today team is providing in-depth coverage of the 2021 Virtual AAN Annual Meeting, April 17–22. Go here to read the latest stories from the conference. Note: This story was updated April 21, 2021, to clarify that Kesimpta will be available in the next three months…

Kesimpta (ofatumumab) has been approved in the U.K. as the first self-administered, at-home, B-cell-targeting therapy for people with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) and active disease. More specifically, the approval includes patients with either clinically isolated syndrome, relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS), or active secondary progressive MS (SPMS), who have…

Where has the time gone? It’s been three years since I completed my second round of Lemtrada (alemtuzumab) infusions. So, it’s time to take another look at where this journey has taken me. Lemtrada is a monoclonal antibody treatment that wipes out rogue B- and T-cells in the…

The overall cost of disease-modifying therapies for multiple sclerosis (MS) in the U.S. remained stable from 2018 to 2020, according to pharmacy and medical claims data from Prime Therapeutics’ insured members. This stabilization derived from a balance between a reduction in Copaxone (glatiramer acetate injection) use due…

The European Commission (EC) has approved a new method to administer Tysabri (natalizumab) as a treatment for people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). This new delivery route involves a subcutaneous injection in which Tysabri is injected under the skin. Compared with the previously approved intravenous (into the bloodstream) formulation,…

Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate), Gilenya (fingolimod), and Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) are losing ground to more recent therapies among U.S. multiple sclerosis (MS) patients switching treatment, according to the latest Spherix Global Insights’ report. The launch of MS generics, bioequivalents, and new brands in the U.S. market over the past year has increased…

Previous treatment with oral Gilenya (fingolimod) is associated with a suboptimal response to Lemtrada (alemtuzumab) and an increased risk of secondary autoimmune disorders in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, a study reports. However, Lemtrada showed an efficacy in patients switching from various other disease…

Doctors in the U.K. are planning a “mega-trial” to investigate several marketed therapies — at the same time — as potential treatments to halt the progression, or even reverse the disabilities, of multiple sclerosis (MS). The world-first Octopus trial, named for its various arms, will enable researchers to concurrently…

Ponvory (ponesimod) Approved for Adults With Relapsing Forms of MS Add one more medication to the disease-modifying therapy (DMT) arsenal. Ponvory is a once-a-day pill that aims to reduce immune system activity. It’s similar to Aubagio (teriflunomide), which I used for about two years, and which I believe helped…