Drug information

A multiple sclerosis (MS) patient treated in Germany with Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) has developed the dreaded brain infection progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML). But it is not clear whether the recently approved Genentech/Roche-developed treatment is the cause. The patient took the last dose of a three-year course of Tysabri (natalizumab) in February. Tysabri is…

Recently approved, Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) should now be available nationwide for patients prescribed the therapy. But as with any new treatment, concerns about safety and practical issues are on many patients’ minds. Multiple Sclerosis News Today asked Dr. Jack Burks — a neurologist and researcher who serves as chief…

A ruling by the  U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware invalidated four of five patents held by Acorda Therapeutics that pertained to Ampyra (dalfampridine), a treatment for walking difficulties in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, raising the possibility of generic forms of the drug coming onto the market in a…

With last month’s approval of the multiple sclerosis drug Ocrevus, I’ve again heard the plea “But how can I afford it?” Ocrevus carries a price tag of about $65,000 a year. That’s not high compared to some other MS drugs, but it still can mean a higher…

Ampyra is marketed as the only multiple sclerosis (MS) drug that is designed to increase an MS patient’s walking speed. Clinical studies show that patients who use the drug walk as much as 20 percent faster. Ampyra improved my speed, several years ago, when I was on…

With the recent approval of Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) for both primary progressive and relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS), interest in the medication is peaking. To help readers of Multiple Sclerosis News Today better understand this new medication and how it works, as well issues dealing with access, use, and potential side effects, here is a summary…

Medicare spent more $650 million in 2013 and 2014 on one single medication — H.P. Acthar Gel —— that was prescribed by fewer than 1 percent of clinicians to treat multiple sclerosis (MS), with questionable results. That’s the conclusion of new research by Oregon Health and Science University (OSHU), which presented its…

Ten years after completing treatment with Novantrone (mitoxantrone), a chemotherapy drug, multiple sclerosis (MS) patients showed evidence of markedly lower annualized relapse rates, but the therapy’s effects began to wane after five years, a study presented at ACTRIMS 2017 Forum reported. The study also assessed how Novantrone affects disease progression in primary and secondary progressive…

Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate or DMF) use by multiple sclerosis (MS) patients can result in liver injury and, in rare cases, even severe injury, a study found, leading its researchers to recommend that patients’ on this treatment be carefully monitored for signs of injury. The study, “…

Two multiple sclerosis (MS) patients developed severe brain inflammation after being treated with Lemtrada (alemtuzumab), researchers report, raising questions about the therapy. A definite link between the lesions and the treatment, however, was not established. The patients’ symptoms were successfully controlled with a blood transfusion and treatment with rituximab (brand name Rituxan,…

You know the saying about having too much of a good thing? I think that’s me, right now, as I think about starting infusions of the multiple sclerosis drug Lemtrada on Dec. 5. Lemtrada is supposed to be a super drug. As I wrote in an earlier column,…

Despite recent studies showing that treatment with Ampyra (Fampyra in Europe; fampridine) improves both walking speed and ability, and offers psychological benefits to patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) recently decided to not recommend the drug for use on the National Health Service (NHS) in Scotland.

Most of us who live with multiple sclerosis also live with a disease modifying therapy (DMT) — a drug that, we hope, will positively modify the course of our disease. One of the earliest of these was Avonex, a weekly injection into the muscle. I was one of those…

Mouse experiments with compounds having opposite actions on two receptors for TNF (tumor necrosis factor) — a key factor in neurodegeneration — explains why earlier trials of TNF blockers in multiple sclerosis (MS) went wrong, and paves the way for more selective drugs targeting the system to stop MS neurodegeneration. The…

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), the health authority for England and Wales, has decided not to recommend Zinbryta (daclizumab) be made available to multiple sclerosis (MS) patients through the country’s health service. The decision came in a first stage of the drug’s review process, and NICE is welcoming…

It’s that time of the year. Drug insurance companies in the U.S. are making changes to their formularies — the list of drugs that your insurance company will pay for. Those formularies change from year to year so you need to be alert to changes that may impact your…

Active Biotech acknowledged in an update on laquinimod, the oral small molecule being developed by Teva Pharmaceutical Industries to treat multiple sclerosis (MS) and Huntington’s disease (HD), that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has rescinded the special protocol assessment given to a Phase 3 study of the treatment in…

Multiple sclerosis patients are at risk of developing lymphopenia, or abnormally low levels of immune defense white blood cells, called lymphocytes, according to a study that investigated lymphocyte counts in people with relapsing MS both before and after the start of treatment. The study, “Lymphopenia in treatment-naive relapsing multiple…

The Government of New Brunswick added  Lemtrada (alemtuzumab), by Sanofi Genzyme, to the New Brunswick Prescription Drug Program (NBPDP) through special authorization for eligible patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). New Brunswick joins other Canadian provinces, including Ontario, Saskatchewan, Quebec, and Manitoba, in making this treatment available to RRMS patients, ages 18 and older, who have had…

Diplomat Pharmacy, the largest independent specialty pharmacy in the U.S., is now dispensing the limited-distribution drug Zinbryta (daclizumab) as a therapy for relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS). Zinbryta was recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with relapsing MS.

Researchers found the molecular target of the multiple sclerosis (MS)-approved drug Tecfidera, (dimethyl fumarate or DMF), unveiling the mechanism associated with the drug’s anti-inflammatory action. The study, “Dimethyl fumarate blocks pro-inflammatory cytokine production via inhibition of TLR induced M1 and K63 ubiquitin chain formation,” was…

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society reported that the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) has granted nearly $20 million in funding to four research projects assessing various multiple sclerosis (MS) therapies for their clinical effectiveness. Two of the grants will cover studies comparing disease-modifying treatments, looking to identify differences…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…