Extending Tysabri (natalizumab) dosing intervals based on the drug’s blood levels was as effective at controlling disease activity in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) as the approved four-week dosing regimen. That’s according to results from NEXT-MS (NCT04225312), a Phase 4 clinical trial studying whether tailoring Tysabri’s…
Drug information
The Patent and Trademark Office intends to grant a U.S. patent covering all dosing regimens of vidofludimus calcium — being developed as IMU-838 — for the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS). That includes the doses being used in developer Immunic Therapeutics’ ongoing clinical program, according to a…
Welcome to “MS News Notes,” a column where I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. Here’s a look at some of what’s been happening: A good report for Vumerity Final results are in from the EVOLVE-MS-1 clinical trial for patients with…
A high level of adherence to disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) is associated with a significant, 25% lower risk of moderate or severe relapses in previously untreated people with multiple sclerosis (MS) compared with those failing to adhere to therapy, according to a study of real-world data in Italy. High…
Immunic Therapeutics has been notified of the intent to grant a U.S. patent covering the use vidofludimus calcium (IMU-838) in treating relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) at a daily dose of about 10 to 45 mg. That range covers the two IMU-838 doses shown to be…
Welcome to “MS News Notes,” a column where I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. Here’s a look at what’s been happening: Dalfampridine side effects The side effects that might occur if you use dalfampridine (sold under the brand name Ampyra)…
A scoring system that accounts for relapses and MRI activity in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients during their first year on an oral disease-modifying therapy (DMT) was found to be predictive of worse short-term outcomes for people with relapsing forms of the neurodegenerative disorder, a study showed. “The occurrence of…
The most common real-world side effects linked to dalfampridine — sold as Ampyra and with generics available — are similar to those listed on its prescribing label for multiple sclerosis (MS), according to data from a safety surveillance database. Common side effects included urinary tract infection (UTI), dizziness…
Nabiximols, the cannabis-based oral spray sold as Sativex, is available for reimbursement as an add-on therapy for moderate to severe spasticity in adults with multiple sclerosis (MS) in Ireland who failed to respond as intended to other spasticity medications. Marked by muscle stiffness and involuntary spasms or twitches,…
More than three-quarters of people with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) who received Zeposia (ozanimod) in the RADIANCE clinical trial and its extension study still haven’t experienced confirmed disability progression after eight years of follow-up, new data shows. Among those who progressed, about half of disability progression…
Treatment with the investigational therapy fenebrutinib significantly reduced the number of new inflammatory lesions visible on MRI scans in people with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). Pharmacological data from the study suggest the anti-inflammatory experimental medication can get into the brain and spinal cord at levels high…
Treatment with tolebrutinib for up to nearly three years was tied to low relapse rates, stable disability, and few new brain lesions among people with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), according to new data from the long-term safety (LTS) extension of a Phase 2b trial. The data…
Welcome to “MS News Notes,” a column where I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. This week, the stories cover research presented at the joint meeting of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS) and the…
A personalized dosing schedule for Tysabri (natalizumab) that aims to maintain blood levels of the drug above a certain threshold seems to be just as effective for controlling disease activity in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) as the approved every-four-week dosing schedule. That’s according to interim data from an…
A new under-the-skin formulation of Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) — administered in 10 minutes — is at least as effective as the approved intravenous, or into-the-vein, formulation among people with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to new clinical trial data. Most people given either the new subcutaneous formulation or the intravenous…
People with multiple sclerosis (MS) who switch between more than two disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) have a higher risk of relapses compared with those who never switch, regardless of how well these patients adhere to their prescribed medications, according to real-world study in Canada. These findings are consistent with…
People with multiple sclerosis (MS) who develop progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) as a side effect of Tysabri (natalizumab) often see their neurological symptoms worsen severely during the infection and their disability gradually accumulate over time. That’s according to a study in Austria, which also showed that most disability progression…
People with multiple sclerosis (MS) in the United Kingdom are less likely to be on disease-modifying treatments (DMTs) compared with MS patients in other countries in Europe, a new study reports. “We know that getting early treatment with disease-modifying MS therapies can improve long term health and wellbeing.
Heligenics has discovered a number of variations in the interferon beta 1 (IFNB1) gene that may markedly improve the effectiveness of medications containing the interferon beta protein — a protein widely used in the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS). The discovery was made using the biotechnology company’s…
Among multiple sclerosis (MS) patients treated with Ocrevus (ocrelizumab), most of the disability worsening they experience is not associated with any relapse activity, according to an analysis of real-world data. “We present real-world data from our multiple sclerosis center underlining that in a typical population of relapsing MS…
Over more than a decade of treatment with Lemtrada (alemtuzumab), relapse rates were low and about half of people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) remained free of confirmed disability worsening, according to final results from the open-label TOPAZ clinical trial. “To our knowledge, this report represents the longest…
People with multiple sclerosis (MS) under treatment with Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) commonly experience fluctuations in the severity of their symptoms — but these changes aren’t related to the timing of Ocrevus infusions, a study reports. Although many patients on Ocrevus report a ‘wearing off’ effect between infusions, findings suggest…
FSD Pharma’s Lucid-21-302 — an oral treatment candidate known as Lucid-MS, for all types of multiple sclerosis (MS) — was found safe and well tolerated across multiple doses in healthy volunteers, according to interim data from a Phase 1 clinical trial. The newly released data are from the…
Using disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) doesn’t reduce fatigue levels in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), a study in Norway suggests. Anxiety and depression were both associated with fatigue, suggesting “there are other underlying causes of fatigue than focal inflammation, on which DMTs have an effect,” the study’s researchers wrote…
Lapix Therapeutics is launching a Phase 1 clinical trial to evaluate LPX-TI641, its investigational treatment for autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS), in healthy individuals. The first-in-human trial (NCT05853835) is expected to begin dosing later this year. It follows the recent clearance of an investigational new…
Tysabri (natalizumab) significantly reduced the development of brain lesions on MRI scans in Japanese people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), according to a new study. The therapy also eased or stabilized disability levels in most patients after five years of treatment, and significantly reduced the annual rate of…
Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) will be funded in New Zealand for treating certain people with primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS) about six years after being approved there. The decision from the Pharmaceutical Management Agency (Pharmac), which decides what medicines are funded in New Zealand and to what extent, makes Ocrevus…
Noting that Aubagio (teriflunomide) continues to have “a robust impact on disability progression” in multiple sclerosis (MS) despite being eclipsed by newer MS treatments in trials, an international team of researchers are now arguing that it is, in fact, still ethical to use the older therapy as a…
Aubagio (teriflunomide) can significantly reduce the risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS) among adults with signs of MS-like brain damage who don’t yet have any disease symptoms, according to findings from a clinical trial. The results were presented earlier this year at the American Academy of Neurology…
Children and adolescents with multiple sclerosis (MS) who receive high-efficacy disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) early on are significantly less likely to experience a relapse than those given a less efficacious drug, a real-world study found. While most patients on moderate-efficacy therapies eventually switched to a more effective one, a…