Drug information

Low-quality unauthorized generic versions of approved multiple sclerosis (MS) drugs can expose patients to danger, both through their toxic properties and a lack of efficacy that allows the disease to progress, researchers reported in the study, “Clinical implications for substandard, nonproprietary medicines in multiple sclerosis: focus on fingolimod,” published…

Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany recently announced that the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has accepted for review the Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) of the company’s investigational product Cladribine Tablets as a therapy for relapsing multiple sclerosis (RMS) in Europe. Cladribine is a synthetic antineoplastic agent able to suppress the immune system, causing relatively few…

MediciNova recently reported that half of the 255 patients enrolled in a Phase 2b clinical trial (SPRINT-MS) exploring MN-166 (ibudilast) in progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) had completed the 96-week-long treatment. Interim data will be analyzed by the trial’s external Data Safety Monitoring Board later this year, with results…

Quite a mixed bag in the pick of the week’s news: A drug in development, microbiota in the gut, statins and MS, DMTs and cognitive skills, and images of depression. Endece Granted New U.S. Patent for NDC-1308, Therapy to Induce Remyelination in MS This is a bit of an…

Individual health insurance coverage largely determines a multiple sclerosis (MS) patient’s access to disease modifying drugs in the United States, mainly because of the rising costs of newer medications and near-annual changes in insurance policy coverage, usually making such coverage more restrictive, researchers report.  These twin problems often leave MS patients relying on suboptimal therapies rather than those…

Oral therapy Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate) seems to be emerging as a first-line treatment for relapsing multiple sclerosis – according to Biogen, the company that developed it. That’s good news, and something we need to know. The company agrees that for some time, the long-term effectiveness and safety of this oral…

A pilot study in patients with progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) found a steroid treatment of benefit by decreasing oxidative stress in the cerebrospinal fluid. The study, “One-time intrathecal triamcinolone acetonide application alters the redox potential in cerebrospinal fluid of progressive multiple sclerosis patients: a pilot study,” was published in the journal …

Despite the existence of several disease-modifying drugs for people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), patients’ satisfaction plays a critical role in their adherence to treatment. Improving adherence should be a major concern in the clinic to prevent patients from evolving to more debilitating stages of the disease. A team of researchers in Germany report that side…

Disease-modifying therapies, a group of treatments for people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), work to stabilize patients’ cognitive functions just as they do their physical symptoms. Research, conducted over the course of a year, also reported no differences between two types of DMTs, Gilenya (fingolimod) and Tysabri (natalizumab). The study, “…

One of the world’s most commonly used medications — the cholesterol-lowering drug simvastatin — was found to affect the immune system in a way that can be explored to treat inflammatory diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS). Researchers have earlier noted that simvastatin, a cholesterol-lowering drug, is beneficial for MS…

A recent study analyzing the healthcare resource use and cost of H.P. Acthar Gel, an injectable drug used to manage multiple sclerosis (MS) relapse, demonstrated that the therapy is a viable alternative to plasmapheresis (PMP) and intravenous immunoglobin (IVIG). Annual direct healthcare costs encountered by MS patients in the U.S.

The Institute of Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) released the early draft of a paper intended to inform a future report evaluating the effectiveness and value of disease-modifying therapies for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). The paper, called a draft scoping document, is titled “Disease Modifying Therapies for Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis: Effectiveness and…

Disabling tremors can affect as many as half of all people with multiple sclerosis (MS), but they are inadequately treated because of limited therapeutic options and are not sufficiently being studied, researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham reported. Their report, “Symptomatic Management of Multiple Sclerosis-Associated Tremor Among…

Since its approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2013, Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate) has emerged as a first-line treatment for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), the most common form of multiple sclerosis (MS). While two separate clinical trials demonstrated Tecfidera’s ability to significantly reduce both the rate of relapse…

Fingolimod (Gilenya), a drug approved for patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) to prevent neuroinflammation, may also help these patients by directly enhancing nerve regeneration and increasing myelination in a way that is partly independent of its anti-inflammatory properties. The study reporting this finding, “Fingolimod promotes peripheral nerve regeneration…

Flex Pharma, Inc., announced the start of a Phase 2 clinical trial assessing the safety and efficacy of FLX-787 in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients who suffer from cramps, spasms, and/or spasticity as a result of the disease. The trial is being run in conjunction with Neuroscience Trials Australia. Flex Pharma’s FLX-787 is a single molecule,…

An immunologist at Victoria University of Wellington is leading a clinical trial that will use existing drugs in a new way to try to treat secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS), a disease form that affects more than one-third of all multiple sclerosis patients but has no effective treatment options. Anne La Flamme, a professor…

Researchers at the Swedish Neuroscience Institute in Washington and Novartis Pharma revealed that Gilenya (fingolimod) induced a consistent and significant reduction in disease activity in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). The results were recently presented at the June 1-4 Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC) 2016 Annual…

Data recently presented at the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC) 2016 Annual Meeting showed that Roche/Genentech’s investigational drug ocrelizumab (Ocrevus) lowered the risk of disability progression in primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS), a condition for which no approved treatments exist. The study was presented during the “…

Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, was founded more than 35 years ago and has been focused on a variety of research fields, including cancer, immunology, neurodegenerative disorders, metabolic diseases, and infectious diseases. Genentech has been committed to discovering and developing new medicines for patients with major diseases of the nervous…

Results from the STRIVE study support the safety of natalizumab (Tysabri) as a therapy for multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. The study, “Natalizumab in Anti-JC Virus Seronegative Patients with Early Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis: Interim Results from the STRIVE Study,” was recently presented at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis…

Newly diagnosed patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) show significant improvements when treated with delayed-release dimethyl fumarate (DMF), especially in terms of reduction in confirmed disability progression. The study, “Efficacy of Delayed-Release Dimethyl Fumarate in Newly Diagnosed Patients with Multiple Sclerosis Using a Composite Measure of Disability,” was recently presented at the…

A study of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) patients who had one or more relapses on earlier treatment, showed that alemtuzumab (Lemtrada) improved disability progression over five years, even though most patients received treatment only during the first two years. The study showed that alemtuzumab is a viable option for long-term…

Global pharma Bayer Healthcare aims to improve human health by diagnosing, preventing, and treating a variety of diseases. The company currently provides products for general medicine, hematology, neurology, oncology, and women’s healthcare. In 1993, Bayer’s Betaseron (interferon beta-1b) became the first disease-modifying drug to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for…

While most multiple sclerosis (MS) researchers focus on the autoimmune and inflammatory processes of the disease, researchers at the Mind Research Network (MRN) believe that improving axonal function might contribute to better MS outcomes. Using Ampyra (dalfampridine), they thoroughly analyzed the function of nerve axon connections between the two brain…

EMD Serono, the U.S. and Canadian subsidiary and biopharmaceutical business of Merck KGaA, focuses exclusively on specialty care. With expertise in fertility, endocrinology, oncology and neurology, the company is featuring several innovative products with therapeutic potential in the oncology, immuno-oncology, and immunology fields. Rebif (interferon beta-1a), EMD Serono’s therapy for patients with relapsing…

Biogen, announced that TYSABRI, a drug developed to treat people with multiple sclerosis (MS) has received a positive opinion from the European Medicine Agency (EMA) recommending its approval to be used in people with elapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS).

Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed in this blog post are not the opinions of Multiple Sclerosis News Today. Our MS Blog series offers patient experts to engage in patient-focused topics that are meant to spark discussion and debate in the Multiple Sclerosis community. The opinions of our bloggers are entirely…

Data from an extension phase of a Phase 3 clinical trial, given in an oral presentation by MedDay, reported that the biotin  MD1003 showed effectiveness over time as a possible treatment of non-active, progressive multiple sclerosis (MS). The data were presented at the recent 2nd Congress of the European Academy of Neurology (EAN) in Denmark by Professor Ayman Tourbah,…

The Russian Ministry of Health recently granted Marketing Authorization (ЛП-003567) to R-Pharm JSC for the development of  “Glatirat” (Glatiramer acetate), a drug intended for the treatment of patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) and clinically isolated syndrome. According to a press release, the registration of “Glatirat” was based…