Drug information

A case report of a woman with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS), who developed progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) after natalizumab therapy, found that the immune-boosting molecule interleukin-2 (IL-2) might be a viable therapeutic option to fight this life-threatening complication although further study is needed. The case report, “Use of interleukin-2 for…

Mitoxantrone,  a multiple sclerosis (MS)  drug that is already associated with a higher risk for leukemia and heart damage, may also raise a person’s risk of colorectal cancer, researchers at the University of Würzburg, in Germany, reported. If confirmed in larger studies, the findings indicate that colonoscopies should be conducted on MS patients after…

A commonly prescribed multiple sclerosis (MS) medication may act to modulate the immune system. The finding is described in the article “Dimethyl fumarate treatment induces adaptive and innate immune modulation independent of Nrf2,“ published in  the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. MS develops due to an…

Clinical results presented at the recent Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP)‘s 2016 annual meeting in San Francisco showed that the use of H.P. Acthar Gel during multiple sclerosis (MS) relapses is associated with beneficial outcomes. The gel, according to its producer, is also available at a lower price than other frequently used…

The Multiple Sclerosis Outcome Assessments Consortium (MSOAC) is making available to qualified researchers a new database containing almost 2,500 records of patients who were part of the placebo groups of nine multiple sclerosis (MS) studies. The MSOAC is a large-scale partnership, launched by the National MS Society and Critical…

Researchers at the School of Medicine of the University of California (UC), Riverside, found that TNF-alpha, a factor known for its pro-inflammatory actions, also triggers processes that end inflammation by inducing a type of immune surveillance cell, called M-cells. By advancing our understanding of immune processes, the finding may lead to…

New data presented by Biogen and AbbVie at the recent 68th annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) showed that Zinbryta (daclizumab high-yield process) improved cognitive outcome measures in patients with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (RMS). Additional results — from post-hoc analyses of clinical trials — also offer a better…

Mabthera (rituximab), a widely approved drug for treating lymphoma and/or rheumatoid arthritis, is highly effective in treating multiple sclerosis (MS), researchers reported in an observational study in Sweden, where Mabthera is increasingly being used outside of its approved indications to treat relapsing-remitting MS patients. The study, published in the journal…

Biogen reported new data describing the effectiveness of Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate) in newly diagnosed relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) patients in a recent presentation at the 68th annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN). The conference, taking place in Vancouver, Canada, runs through April 21. Tecfidera is an…

Sanofi Genzyme is presenting promising data regarding brain volume and retinal nerve fibers in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients — drawn from an ongoing extension study into the disease-modifying drug alemtuzumab (Lemtrada) — at the 2016 American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Annual Meeting  taking place in Vancouver, Canada, through April…

A Phase 2 clinical trial testing the efficacy of a common antihistamine, clemastine fumarate, to treat optic nerve damage in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) found the drug able to slightly reverse damage to their visual system. The  study, conducted by researchers at the Multiple Sclerosis Center at the University of California San…

Sanofi Genzyme will present new data on its approved multiple sclerosis (MS) treatments — Lemtrada (alemtuzumab) and Aubagio (teriflunomide) — at the 68th annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN), taking place in Vancouver, Canada, through April 21, as well as data on investigational therapies in its pipeline. In total, the meeting…

Innate Immunotherapeutics, Ltd., announced that it has completed patient enrollment in its ongoing Phase 2B, placebo-controlled clinical trial assessing the efficacy and safety of the drug MIS416 as a once-weekly treatment for secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS). MIS416 is a biologically derived immune modulator that targets myeloid cells, a subset of innate immune cells that can…

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Ltd., announced that new data on four of its products, including an approved and a potential treatment for multiple sclerosis, will be presented at the 68th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN), running through April 21 in Vancouver, Canada. The data, to be…

Mice with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), an animal model of multiple sclerosis (MS), were found to have milder symptoms if the target of natalizumab (Tysabri) — VLA4 — was absent on B-cells, preventing regulatory cells that might control immune processes from entering the brain. B-cells are increasingly thought to play…

A case report of a woman with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) who developed shingles while being treated with dimethyl fumarate (Tecfidera) has raised questions of whether the drug reactivates the varicella-zoster virus. The study, “Disseminated zoster with paresis in a multiple sclerosis patient treated with dimethyl fumarate,“ was published in…

The immune system-suppressing multiple sclerosis (MS) drug fingolimod (Gilenya) also has potentially beneficial effects on the nervous system, according to a recent study, “The multiple sclerosis drug fingolimod (FTY720) stimulates neuronal gene expression, axonal growth and regeneration.“  The article appeared online March 12 in an early version of the journal …

Researchers at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, in collaboration with various institutions from north America and Europe, found that teriflunomide (Aubagio) is well-tolerated and efficient for long-term treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS). The findings, entitled “Long-term safety and efficacy of teriflunomide,” were…

Editor’s note: The term B-cells is, in fact, a collective term for a group of cells having rather different properties. Some B-cells cells play a role in fighting invading pathogens or flawed cells, and can be wrongfully activated to target normal cells in autoimmune diseases. Regulatory B-cells (Bregs), instead act…

Researchers, working with an animal model of multiple sclerosis (MS), discovered that oral treatment with a synthesized plant peptide, known as cyclotide, halted the progression of clinical symptoms without side effects. The finding offers new hope for the development of an easily available and orally deliverable treatment that might slow or even…

Several clinical trials have shown that alemtuzumab (Lemtrada) effectively reduces relapse rates in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), and improves disability in the early stages of the disease. A new study adds to evidence of the drug’s efficiency by finding that it affects different aspects of disability to varying degrees, a finding…

Natalizumab (Tysabri) harnesses multiple sclerosis (MS) activity by targeting CD49, a molecule on the surface of immune cells. Now, researchers found that the drug reduces the factor on regulatory T-cells to a greater extent than on inflammatory T-cells — a mechanism that might explain disease exacerbation during treatment. The molecule under…

A survey, summarizing the views of 2,600 multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, showed how people manage their disease in real life — and the results offer some surprising insights that might provide clues for future treatment development and optimization. Conducted by a Stanford University-trained geneticist, Dr. Yael Wilnai, results from the…

A major dilemma facing clinicians is whether to continue treatment with disease-modifying drugs, effective in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), as the disease progresses to secondary progressive MS (SPMS). In SPMS,  these treatments seem to lose their benefits and — as they are often associated with severe side effects and high costs — clinicians…

AB Science recently reported the publication of four peer-reviewed and independent research papers that add to the growing recognition of masitinib, the company’s lead compound, as a promising treatment for neurological and neurodegenerative diseases, including progressive multiple sclerosis (MS), Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs)…

A new assessment by a European regulatory agency failed to find fingolimod of added benefit to comparator therapies for people with highly active relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) who have failed to respond to treatment with at least one other disease-modifying drug. Fingolimod (Gilenya), developed as a therapy for multiple sclerosis, has undergone three early benefit assessments since its…

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced that a small clinical trial of a progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) treatment was stopped early due to poor results. The trial was evaluating the drug rituximab for its efficacy in depleting harmful immune cells and decreasing nerve damage in these MS…

Researchers, working on an animal model and human cells, discovered a mechanism to halt autoimmune disease damage and developed of a novel class of drugs that triggers the mechanism, and which has the potential to treat autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis (MS) without impairing the normal and necessary activities of the…

Anavex Life Sciences, a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of new therapies for neurodegenerative and central nervous system (CNS) diseases, among others, recently announced the presentation of preclinical data for one of its lead drug candidates, ANAVEX2-73, as a multiple sclerosis (MS) treatment. The preclinical study’s lead investigator, Dr.

The European Medicines Agency Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee (PRAC), responsible for assessing and monitoring safety issues for human medicines, completed a review on the risk for progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients treated with the medicine Tysabri (natalizumab). The issued guidelines have the objective of minimizing patients’ risk.