Is orelabrutinib one of the next big MS therapies? Biogen is betting at least $125 million that it is. Orelabrutinib is an experimental oral BTK inhibitor (BTKi). BTKi’s are designed to selectively block an enzyme that’s important for the activation of B-cells and microglia. Some of those immune cells…
Experimental treatment
Chong Kun Dang (CKD) Pharmaceutical’s experimental oral therapy CKD-506 suppressed inflammation, myelin loss (demyelination), and lessened symptoms in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis (MS), a study reported. Notably, the therapy resulted in benefits generally comparable to those of Gilenya (fingolimod) in these mice. But it also…
Biogen has signed a deal with InnoCare Pharma to acquire global commercialization and licensing rights to orelabrutinib, an experimental oral BTK inhibitor (BTKi) now being tested in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) in a Phase 2 clinical trial. Under the terms of the agreement, Biogen will have…
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has cleared Immunic Therapeutics to initiate two clinical trials of its investigational medication IMU-838 (vidofludimus calcium) in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), as well as a separate trial for people with progressive types of MS. The RRMS clinical trial program, expected…
Nasally-administered foralumab, a potential treatment for neurodegenerative disorders such as progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), appears safe and well-tolerated, and shows immune-modulating and anti-inflammatory effects in healthy volunteers, an updated analysis from a Phase 1 trial has found. “Nasal administration of Foralumab is a unique approach to treat…
The digital therapeutics company MedRhythms is launching a clinical trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of MR-004, an experimental product that uses rhythmic sounds to improve walking abilities in people with multiple sclerosis (MS). The randomized…
NurOwn cell therapy led to significant improvements in the physical abilities, vision, and cognition of people with progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) in a Phase 2 clinical trial, top-line data show. In addition to these positive efficacy results, BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics, NurOwn’s developer, announced that its cell-based therapy showed…
Red blood cells carrying specific antigen proteins on the cell surface can be used to disarm overactive T-cells by promoting immune tolerance, a study in mice found. The findings may have important implications for the treatment of autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis. The study, “Persistent antigen…
BioNTech’s experimental non-inflammatory vaccine — designed to dampen the abnormal immune responses seen in multiple sclerosis (MS) against myelin — delayed the onset and lessened the severity of symptoms in a mouse model of MS, a study reports. Importantly, treated mice showed no signs of overall immune suppression,…
Patient dosing has finished in a Phase 2 clinical trial testing NurOwn, BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics’ investigational cell-based therapy for people with progressive multiple sclerosis (MS), the company announced. The trial’s top-line results are…
Treatment with NG-01 — an approach that uses patients’ own mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) — safely and effectively delayed disease progression in people with active, progressive multiple sclerosis (MS), according to final data from a Phase 2 clinical trial. Delivering these cells directly into the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)…
A non-invasive retina imaging technique known as optical coherence tomography (OCT) provided evidence of the neuroprotective effect of ibudilast (MN-166) — an oral medication designed to reduce the body’s inflammatory responses — in people with progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). The data also…
Immunic Therapeutics is seeking 60 more adults with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) to test a lower dose of IMU-838, its leading oral experimental therapy, in its ongoing Phase 2 EMPhASIS trial. The decision was based on previous trial results showing that both doses tested (30 and 45 mg…
Biogen is discontinuing the clinical development of opicinumab, its experimental treatment candidate for multiple sclerosis (MS), based on data from the Phase 2 AFFINITY clinical trial. The announcement, amid a third-quarter report, indicated that the study failed to meet both its main and secondary goals, without further details. The trial,…
The European Patent Office granted a patent for IMP761, Immutep‘s experimental antibody to be used in treating inflammatory and autoimmune conditions, including multiple sclerosis (MS). IMP761 targets a receptor found on the surface of immune system T-cells called lymphocyte-activation gene 3,…
Scientists developed a new therapy for multiple sclerosis (MS) that prevents immune cells from exiting the lymph nodes and entering the spinal cord of mice with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) — a condition that mimics MS in humans. The therapy, which consists of a…
ATA188, Atara Biotherapeutics’ investigative T-cell immunotherapy, is safe, well tolerated, and able to ease disability and improve exercise capacity in patients with progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), according to one-year data from a Phase 1 trial and its long-term extension study. Findings also showed that, after…
Andrographolide, an herbal compound with anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective properties, is able to slow brain atrophy and progression of disability in people with non-active progressive multiple sclerosis (PMS), according to results from a Phase 1/2 clinical trial. The study, “Efficacy of andrographolide in not active progressive…
Atara Biotherapeutics‘ cell-based therapy ATA188 is safe and well-tolerated in people with progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), and induces a sustained reduction in disability in a dose-dependent manner, findings from the first part of a Phase 1 clinical trial show. ATA188 had an…
IC 100, a monoclonal antibody by ZyVersa Therapeutics that prevents the assembly of inflammasomes — a pro-inflammatory cellular complex — lessened inflammation and halted disease progression in multiple sclerosis (MS), a study of mice shows.xa The study, “IC100: a novel anti-ASC monoclonal antibody improves functional outcomes…
A high-dose chemotherapy combination given to wipe out the immune system before its rescue with autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant (aHSCT) can cause “transient” damage to neurons and supporting cells of the central nervous system in people with aggressive multiple sclerosis (MS), a Canadian study reports. Nonetheless, its researchers believe…
NurOwn, believed to have neuroprotective and repairing effects, may also be able to curb the damaging immune responses that contribute to multiple sclerosis (MS) progression, a recent study found. This newly identified potential may extend the benefits of this cell-based therapy, its researchers believe. The findings were to be presented…
The Partners Multiple Sclerosis Center at Brigham and Women’s Hospital has joined BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics in a Phase 2 trial exploring the safety and efficacy of NurOwn in the treatment of progressive multiple sclerosis (MS). This is the fifth and final clinical site participating in…
Mount Sinai Medical Center has joined with BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics to explore the safety and efficacy of NurOwn as a potential treatment for progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) in an ongoing Phase 2 trial. The New York center is the fourth clinical site participating in the trial, in addition…
A single dose of CD45-ADC, an investigational targeted therapy being developed to treat different types of autoimmune diseases, is enough to reset the normal function of the body’s immune system in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis (MS), and to delay onset of the disease. Those findings…
SARM1 inhibitors are a potential oral treatment to slow disease progression in neurodegenerative diseases like multiple sclerosis (MS), according to preclinical results that show the inhibitors protect nerve cells from damage in mice and cell cultures. Researchers at Disarm Therapeutics presented the findings in a poster titled “…
People with progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) and past exposure to the Epstein-Barr virus are responding to a potential immunotherapy known as ATA188, tolerating the treatment well and with signs that suggest effectiveness, early updated data from an ongoing Phase 1 trial show. The research, “…
Eliminating SARM1, an enzyme that plays a key role in nerve cell degeneration, protects neurons in mice with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a condition that mimics the key pathological features of multiple sclerosis (MS) in humans. The preclinical findings were presented by researchers at Disarm Therapeutics in a…
A new study demonstrates that intracellular sigma peptide (ISP) can promote remyelination in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis (MS). Importantly, this study was independent of NervGen, a pharmaceutical company that is developing an ISP-like compound — NVG-291 — for the treatment of nerve injury and MS. The study,…
The Phase 2 clinical trial testing BrainStorm Cell Therapeutic’s investigational NurOwn therapy for progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) has added a third clinical site, the company announced. The trial (NCT03799718) now will enroll patients at the Keck School of Medicine of The University of Southern California (USC), and its academic…