Drug information

The US Food and Drug Administration has just issued a report warning the general public and healthcare providers dealing with multiple sclerosis that one of the leading medications for the disease, Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate), has been identified a possible factor in the death of an MS patient,…

With 100,000 Canadians living with Multiple Sclerosis (MS), and three people newly diagnosed every day, Canada has one of the highest prevalence rates for the disease in the world. Most people are diagnosed with relapsing MS in their twenties and thirties, and MS is the most common neurological disease affecting…

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., the company that developed the injectable multiple sclerosis treatment Copaxone (Glatiramer acetate),  has announced their pursuit of regulatory approval in Japan. This development comes a year after signing an agreement with Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. According to a…

Drug manufacturers Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. and Active Biotech announced that they expanding the ongoing clinical research program for the study of laquinimod, a potential treatment for primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS), as the companies are now initiating the ARPEGGIO trial. In addition, Teva has also announced…

An encouraging experimental drug that is being developed for Multiple Sclerosis continues to show promise in being able to offer neuroprotective benefits — an effect that could slow and eventually cure MS. Masitinib, which is being developed by AB Science for numerous neurological indications, including Alzheimer’s disease, progressive multiple sclerosis, and amyotrophic…

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently accepted the results from Genzyme’s TOWER and TOPIC  clinical trials, which assessed the safety and efficacy of oral, once-daily Aubagio® (teriflunomide) for Multiple Sclerosis, and will add the positive data to the product’s U.S. label. Genzyme is a leader in the development…

The U.S. Supreme Court deliberated on a request from Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. to preserve the patent of its multiple sclerosis drug Copaxone from generic competitors until September 2015. Recent reports indicate that the court gave the company a mixed opinion. The hearing occurred this…

Concert Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will announce their latest results from the Phase 1 data of CTP-354, a drug developed to treat spasticity — a chronic condition associated with patients with brain disorders, including Multiple Sclerosis — at the next American Neurological Association’s Annual Meeting in Baltimore, Maryland. The Phase 1 randomized,…

Spanish-Filipino biopharmaceutical startup Ankar Pharma is working on a promising treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS). Dr. Ana Martinez, a professor and researcher at the Biological Research Center (CIB) of the Spanish National Council for Research (CSIC), explains that while there are several palliative treatments available on the market…

Now more than ever, groundbreaking, new therapies for chronic diseases and infections come with high price tags. Earlier in the year, Gilead Sciences’ drug Sovaldi for Hepatitis C, as well as Vertex’s Kalydeco for Cystic Fibrosis, both raised eyebrows over their cost. Now, a new MS therapy is doing the…

Genzyme, a Sanofi company, has announced that the Canadian province of Québec’s Institut national d’excellence en santé et services sociaux (INESSS) has recommended that the company’s multiple sclerosis (MS) drug Lemtrada (alemtuzumab) 12 mg be included on the provincial drug formulary under “Médicament d’exception” as a second-line treatment for…

A new study, entitled “The Effect of Glatiramer Acetate Therapy on Functional Properties of B Cells From Patients With Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis” published online in JAMA Neurology, reports the effect of Glatiramer acetate therapy on B cells in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. This first-of-its-kind study could…

San Francisco Bay Area-based Glialogix, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company that specializes in developing novel treatments for multiple sclerosis (MS), announced yesterday that they have closed a Sponsored Research Agreement with Fast Forward, a non-profit organization that aims to accelerate MS treatment development. Glialogix will receive funding for one of their…

Funding for continued research and development into understanding, treating, and eventually curing Multiple Sclerosis continues to accelerate. Evotec AG, a German company that specializes in providing drug discovery resources to pharmaceutical and biotech companies, and learning institutions, has just announced the launch of its line-up of groundbreaking studies into MS — an…

For the first time, an antisense oligonucleotide has been shown to be effective in treating relapse-remitting multiple sclerosis. A phase 2a clinical trial of Antisense Therapeutics Limited’s ATL1102, a CD49d antisense drug, showed that the treatment quickly reduced brain lesions in RRMS patients following the start of therapy.

Biogen Idec revealed data from its second year of the phase 3 ADVANCE clinical trial for the study of Plegridy as a treatment for patients with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis, which demonstrated the positive effects of the subcutaneous injectable therapy beyond the first year…

Biopharmaceutical company Merck Serono, a division of Merck, recently awarded a total of €1 million to the five winners of the second annual Grant for Multiple Sclerosis Innovation (GMSI) at MS Boston 2014, the joint meeting of the Americas Committee for Treatment and Research in MS (ACTRIMS) and European Committee…

Biogen Idec presented the five-year results from its ENDORSE phase 3 extension study of Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate), which revealed that the treatment is able to provide strong and sustained efficacy to patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), at last week’s ACTRIMS-ECTRIMS summit. Not only did…

Acorda Therapeutics will present results of a study analyzing AMPYRA (dalfampridine) Extended Release Tablets in multiple sclerosis patients at the 2014 Joint ACTRIMS-ECTRIMS Meeting in Boston, held through September 10-13. Unlike many other studies of therapeutic agents, this study looked at prescribing patterns, patient compliance, and budget impact…

Transparency Life Sciences, LLC (TLS), the first clinical-stage drug development company based on open innovation in the world, recently received a $1.4 million Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant intended for its phase IIa proof-of-concept study, which is assessing the utility of the ACE inhibitor lisinopril as an adjunctive treatment for patients with multiple…

During the 30th Congress of the European Committee for Research and Treatment in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS) taking place in Boston between September 10th and 13th, Genzyme, a Sanofi company, will present its multiple sclerosis (MS) pipeline with a new group of trial treatments for early development of MS.

Those attending this week’s ACTRIMS-ECTRIMS convention set to take place on the 10th of September until the 13th in Boston, can expect Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis to present promising findings on Gilenya (fingolimod) — the company’s leading oral formulation for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). In previously completed studies and clinical trials,…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) accepted the abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) for filing of a Glatiramer Acetate Injection for the treatment of patients with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS).

As researchers continue to develop a clearer understanding of the underlying causes of multiple sclerosis (MS), it is becoming increasingly apparent that the future of treating the disease is likely to center on neural protection and a reversal of the demyelination process that strips away the critical insulation…

The Pharmaceutical Management Agency (PHARMAC) is considering a funding proposal that includes five treatments for multiple sclerosis (MS), namely two key MS drugs,  Biogen‘s Tysabri and Novartis‘ Gilenya, that are not currently funded. PHARMAC is the New Zealand Crown agency that decides, on behalf of District…

Fingolimod is a disease modifying therapy (DMT) used to treat relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) patients as well as patients who continue to present with relapses despite treatment with beta interferon drugs, and is the first oral medication to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug…

Multiple sclerosis (MS) patients who are prescribed Tysabri have an increased risk to develop the rare, often fatal infection of the brain called progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), according to a recent study. PML is caused by a common virus that infects blood cells and can be mobilized by popular RRMS drug Natalizumab,…

According to a study published in JAMA Neurology, multiple sclerosis patients are greatly benefited by Biogen Idec’s Tysabri (natalizumab) and tend to relapse if they discontinue treatment. Natalizumab had a protective effect on patients who were continuously treated with Tysabri beyond a 24-dose timepoint within the study,…

The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) initiated a clinical trial to evaluate the antihistamine clemastine fumarate, manufactured by Novartis as Tavist, for its efficacy in treating multiple sclerosis patients. The laboratory of Dr. Jonah Chan, a professor of neurology at UCSF, used a high-throughput method to identify Tavist…

The Republic of Ireland is legalizing the medical prescription of cannabis for people with Multiple Sclerosis, under a new revision to current Irish laws. The Irish Mirror reports that Pat O’Mahony, CEO of Ireland’s Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) confirmed July 7 that the Department of Health is…