March 11, 2020 News by Ana Pena PhD Blood NfL Potential Marker of MS Therapies’ Effectiveness, Study Suggests Starting treatment with aĀ disease-modifying therapy (DMT) reduces blood levels of neurofilament light chain (NfL) ā a potential biomarker of disease progression and activity ā to varying degrees depending on the therapy used, according to a large real-world study of patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). The findings support…
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…
February 14, 2020 News by Ana Pena PhD Ocrevus Use Rises Among New Starters with RRMS, Loses Ground to Other Therapies in PPMS First-line use of Genentech‘s Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) for patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) has remained stable through 2019 compared to 2018, according to the latest Spherix Global Insights‘ report. However, the latest edition of “RealWorld Dynamix: DMT New Starts in Multiple Sclerosis (US),” based…
January 15, 2020 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD Almost Half of MS Patients Change or Stop DMT Due to High Financial Burden, Survey Shows The high cost of disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) for multiple sclerosis (MS), and the challenging process of insurance approval, lead to treatment gaps or alterations, increased symptoms, and sacrifices in lifestyle, a survey from theĀ National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS) shows. āPeople with MS are paying the price, not…
January 14, 2020 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD MS Progression Affected by Degree of Relapse Recovery and Timing of DMT Use, Study Says Recovering well after a first relapse and starting aĀ disease-modifying therapy (DMT) immediately afterward considerably increases the likelihood of slowing progression in multiple sclerosis (MS), a study suggests. Its findings support relapse recovery as a critical factor for DMT initiation, and one that should be assessed routinely in MS…
January 6, 2020 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Brain Regeneration Impaired in Progressive MS, Unaffected By DMTs, Study Reports Regeneration in the brain is reduced in people with primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS), but enhanced during disease activity in those with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS), a study reports. The results also show that regeneration is unaffected by treatment with disease-modifying therapies (DMTs), as shown by the levels…
January 3, 2020 News by Alejandra Viviescas, PhD DMT Use Linked to Fewer Hospitalizations Among Adults with MS in Canadian Province The growing reliance on disease-modifying therapies (DMTs)Ā to treat people with multiple sclerosis (MS)Ā has led to fewer hospitalizations but not a drop in the number of physician visits, a population study of DMTs and their impact on healthcare use in Canada reports. The study, “Association between…
December 11, 2019 News by Joana Carvalho, PhD Tysabri May Promote Inflammatory B-Cell Activation in MS Patients, Study Says Tysabri (natalizumab), an effective T-cell targeting treatment for multiple sclerosisĀ (MS),Ā seems to also promote the activation of pro-inflammatory immune B-cells in people with this disease, a studyĀ found. The study, “Natalizumab promotes activation and pro-inflammatory differentiation of peripheral B cells in multiple sclerosis patients,” was published in the…
November 27, 2019 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Profit and Competitors’ Prices Major Drivers of MS Therapy Costs in US, Pharma Execs Say Prices for newĀ multiple sclerosis (MS) therapies in the United States are decided most by competitors’ prices, and continual increases in the cost of existing treatments by concerns for company profits and future growth, a study based on”confidential” interviews with four biotech executives with experience in the MS field reports. U.S.
November 14, 2019 News by Grace Frank Vumerity’s $88,000 List Price Not What ‘We Had Hoped,’ National MS Society Says The National Multiple Sclerosis Society has criticized BiogenĀ for the $88,000 yearly list price it placed onĀ VumerityĀ (diroximel fumarate), the newly approved oral disease-modifying treatment (DMT) for relapsing multiple sclerosis. That criticism extends to repeated price increases withĀ TecfideraĀ (dimethyl fumarate), Biogen’s similar oral DMT for…
October 25, 2019 Columns by Ed Tobias Am I Too Old for Aggressive MS Treatment? A question raised by neurologist Gavin Giovannoni on the Barts-MS blog lit up my radar recently. Dr. G asked whether “elderly” people with MS should be treated differently than those who are younger. The question arises because a case of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), a serious brain disease,…
October 7, 2019 News by Marisa Wexler, MS RRMS Patients Not Using DMTs More Likely to Have Been Misdiagnosed, Cite Poorer Relationships with Doctors, Survey Says People with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) who don’t use disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) are more likely to have been misdiagnosed previously, and to have poorer relationships with their healthcare providers, the results of a new survey suggest. The survey, titled “Multiple Sclerosis In America 2019,” was conducted byĀ …
September 16, 2019 News by Jose Marques Lopes, PhD #ECTRIMS2019 – Newer DMTs More Effective Than Older Injectables in Pediatric MS, Study Says Using newer disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) as an initial treatment for children and adolescents with multiple sclerosis (MS) or clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) is associated with fewer relapses and brain lesions compared to the use of older and injectable DMTs, according to a real-world study in the U.S.
September 12, 2019 News by Ana Pena PhD #ECTRIMS2019 ā Promises and Warnings About Stem Cell Therapy Stem cell therapy, or stem cell transplant, is an emerging yet controversial treatment approach for multiple sclerosis (MS). While some data uphold it as one of the most efficacious MS treatments, to date there have been no controlled studies comparing it to conventional medicines and providing more robust…
September 11, 2019 News by Ana Pena PhD #ECTRIMS2019 ā MS Patients Should Be Informed about Pregnancy Risks and Family Planning, Experts Say While pregnancy does not appear to affect the disease course of multiple sclerosis (MS), questions remain about the best time to stop or resume treatment before conception and after delivery, the safety of new medications, and the importance of family planning. Pregnancy was the “hot topic” discussion today…
August 21, 2019 News by Ana Pena PhD Gilenya, Aubagio, Tysabri, Tecfidera Dominate MS Therapy Switches in Europe, Spherix Survey Finds Novartis‘ Gilenya (fingolimod), Sanofi Genzyme‘sĀ Aubagio (teriflunomide), andĀ BiogenāsĀ TysabriĀ (natalizumab) and Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate) are the top disease-modifying therapies to which patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) have most frequently switched in…
July 2, 2019 News by Ana Pena PhD Neurologists Prefer Mayzent for SPMS and RRMS, But Mavenclad Could Be ‘Ideal’ First Switch, Report Suggests While neurologists favor Novartis‘ Mayzent (siponimod) for people with active secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) and transitioning relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS), EMD Serono‘s Mavenclad (cladribine) could serve as a first option for patients with RRMS who failed initial therapy, Spherix Global Insights says in its…
June 3, 2019 News by Joana Carvalho, PhD Mavenclad May Surpass Gilenya as DMT of Choice for Treatment of MS in Canada Mavenclad (cladribine) may surpass Gilenya (fingolimod) in the category of oral disease-modifying therapy (DMT) of choice for the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) in Canada, according to a press release. The Canadian healthcare market for MS has grown considerably over the past two years. In November…
May 8, 2019 News by Marisa Wexler, MS #AANAM – Research Suggests Misconceptions About MS Risk in Pregnant Women New research suggests that even though pregnant women with multiple sclerosis (MS) are often viewed as high risk by their physicians, pregnancy Ā does not seem to increase the likelihood of adverse obstetrical outcomes for those patients or their babies. The research was presented at the 2019 Annual Meeting…
March 12, 2019 News by Jose Marques Lopes, PhD #AANAM ā Risk of MS Relapses Not Increased Right After Giving Birth, Study Suggests Women with multiple sclerosis (MS) do not experience more relapses right after giving birth, as previously believed, according to a preliminary study. The study also revealed that mothers with MS who breastfeed their babies have a lower relapse risk compared with those who do not breastfeed. The data, ā…
February 25, 2019 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News that Caught My Eye Last Week: Early DMT Use, Aubagio vs. Tecfidera, Lipoic Acid Study, MS Forums Early Use of High-efficacy DMTs of Long-term Benefit to MS Patients, Real-world Study Reports The question of whether to start treating multiple sclerosis (MS) with an older, less effective disease-modifying therapy (DMT) and then move to a more effective one ā or use a heavy-hitting medication right…
February 22, 2019 Columns by Ed Tobias My Lemtrada Journey and a 90-minute School Bus Ride My wife and I joined our son and his family on a tour of a Southwest Florida nature preserve today. It required riding on an old school bus-swamp buggy for a little over an hour and a half. There were plenty of gators, wild hogs, egrets, and storks in…
January 23, 2019 News by Jose Marques Lopes, PhD Favorable Efficacy and Similar Safety with Ocrevus in Relapsing MS, Study Finds Treatment with Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) has superior or comparable effectiveness and a similar safety profile to other available disease-modifying treatments (DMTs) for treating relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a new review study. The research, āSystematic review and network meta-analysis comparing ocrelizumab with other treatments for…
December 21, 2018 Columns by Ed Tobias Shots, Infusions, or Pills for Your MS? There are more than a dozen disease-modifying therapies available to treat MS. Some are shots, some are infusions, and some are pills. Some are more effective than others. The marketing intelligence company Spherix Global Insights regularly surveys which of these treatments are being used by neurologists and…
December 14, 2018 Columns by Ed Tobias Pregnancy, DMTs, and MS: A New Study Many years ago a woman I know who has multiple sclerosis (MS) became pregnant. After her child was born her MS became significantly worse. There have been many studies on the impact of pregnancy on someone with MS, with most concluding that the number of MS relapses are reduced…
October 11, 2018 News by Jose Marques Lopes, PhD #ECTRIMS2018 – Rituximab for MS Does Not Increase Cancer Risk Compared to Gilenya and Tysabri, Swedish Study Finds Treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients with rituximab does not increase breast cancer risk in women, and is not associated with a higher risk for malignant cancer of any type in men or women, when compared to Gilenya (fingolimod) orĀ Tysabri (natalizumab), according to a nationwide study in…
October 10, 2018 News by Ana Pena PhD #ECTRIMS2018 – DMTs Slow Down Disability Progression in SPMS Patients with Ongoing Relapses, Analysis Shows Treatment with disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) may benefit patients with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) who are actively experiencing relapses, as they can slow the disability’s worsening, a new analysis of an MS patient registry shows. Patients…
July 30, 2018 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News that Caught My Eye Last Week: Popular DMTs, Data Analysis Predicts MS, Remyelination Study Oral DMTs Still Common 1st Therapy for New MS Patients but Ocrevus Having Impact, Market Report Says Deciding on what therapy to use is a tough decision for people with MS and their doctors. That’s especially true for someone who is newly diagnosed. Do you go with…
June 4, 2018 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News that Caught My Eye Last Week: Remyelination, Predicting SPMS, Switching DMTs, MS and a Virus Chemical that Stimulates Estrogen Receptors Seen to Promote Myelin Repair Through āGoodā Inflammation in Mouse MS Model Caution: This is only a mouse study. However, anything that might repair the damaged myelin of people with MS catches my eye. In this case, researchers are building on earlier…
May 29, 2018 Columns by Ed Tobias Pressure in the UK Helps Lower MS Therapy Costs. But What About the US? In the United States, the government can do very little to control the costs of our expensive MS medications. In the United Kingdom, it’s a different story. The U.K. has an organization called the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, better known as NICE. NICE provides healthcare…