Genentech

COVID-19 infection in a multiple sclerosis (MS) patient being treated with Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) — an immunosuppressive therapy — was not associated with any serious complications, a case study reports. This finding supports current suggestions that immunosuppressive therapies, by dampening immune and inflammatory responses, may help to protect…

Starting treatment with Ocrevus early can lower almost by half the need for a walking aid in people with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) over six years, new analyses of Phase 3 trial data that compared immediate initiation with a two-year delay show. A separate analysis also found…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) have accepted applications from Genentech to shorten the infusion time for Ocrevus, an approved treatment for multiple sclerosis. If approved, the time to administer Ocrevus will be shortened to a two-hour session, instead…

For multiple sclerosis (MS) patients with considerable disability, Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) appears to lower the risk of continued progression in both relapsing and primary progressive forms of the disease, data from an exploratory and post-hoc analysis of three Phase 3 trials report. These findings were in the study, “…

Modulating the bacteria that reside in the gut by treating multiple sclerosis (MS) patients with probiotics, fecal transplants, or gut-related microRNAs may help to ease inflammation and disease severity, researchers with Brigham and Women’s Hospital suggest. Howard Weiner, MD, a group leader at the hospital, presented his team’s findings on…

First-line use of Genentech‘s Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) for patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) has remained stable through 2019 compared to 2018, according to the latest Spherix Global Insights‘ report. However, the latest edition of “RealWorld Dynamix: DMT New Starts in Multiple Sclerosis (US),” based…

Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) has been approved in Scotland as a treatment for early, inflammatory primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS). The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) has advised that Ocrevus can be prescribed by the National Health Service (NHS) for people with PPMS who have had symptoms for less than 15…

Genentech‘s Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) continues to be the most prescribed medication to reduce inflammatory disease in people with active secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) among U.S. neurologists, even though Novartis’ Mayzent (siponimod) and EMD Serono’s Mavenclad (cladribine) were approved in March to treat this same MS…

Two years after the approval of Ocrevus (ocrelizumab), the latest data continue to support the benefits of the so-called “game-changing” therapy in multiple sclerosis (MS), while new insights highlight its neuronal protective effects and safety. Multiple Sclerosis News Today had the opportunity to speak with Hideki Garren,…

Early and continuous treatment with Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) leads to a greater and more durable slowing of disability progression — seen for up to 6.5 years — in people with primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS), according to long-term data on its use in PPMS patients in a Phase 3…

Using newer disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) as an initial treatment for children and adolescents with multiple sclerosis (MS) or clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) is associated with fewer relapses and brain lesions compared to the use of older and injectable DMTs, according to a real-world study in the U.S.

Treating relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS) patients with Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) is not associated with retinal thinning — unlike treatment with Rebif (interferon beta-1a), according to two Phase 3 trials. The findings also showed a link between retinal thinning and brain volume loss. The study, “…

Treatment for more than six years with Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) is linked to lower levels of blood antibodies among people with primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS) and relapsing MS, but rates of serious infections also remain low, an analysis of data from three Phase 3 trials show. Dropping below a certain…

Treatment with rituximab — sold as Rituxan in the U.S. by Roche and Biogen, and as MabThera by Roche in Europe — reversed disease course in a “dramatic fashion,” leading to complete remission in a 12-year-old boy with aggressive relapse-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), a case report states. The report, “…

I knew nothing about multiple sclerosis (MS) before 2012, including the cause, the cure, or any other details. I had so many unanswered questions about how I would live with MS when I was diagnosed. I had never heard of treatment for MS and was unsure of the…

Interleukin-17A (IL-17A), a molecule that mediates immune and inflammatory responses, likely promotes inflammation and tissue damage in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) and should be considered a potential target for treating the disease, a study reports. The findings of the study, “IL-17A is associated with the breakdown of the…

Over the past several weeks, I’ve been using an app called Floodlight to track my ability to live with my multiple sclerosis (MS). It measures things such as my balance, finger dexterity, walking speed, and cognitive ability. It even knows if I’m keeping myself shuttered in my apartment or…

Users of the disease-modifying therapy Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) share a common complaint: the length of time the infusions take. It may seem petty, but an Ocrevus infusion consumes nearly an entire day. My typical infusion involves checking into the clinic, being screened by the infusion nurse for any changes, taking…

I worked up a little sweat when I was exercising the other day. It was just a tiny bit on my forehead, but it was something I hadn’t felt in many years. I’ve lived with MS since 1980, and before now, I can’t remember the last time I felt sweaty.

Sutter Health, a California-based healthcare group, has partnered with the biotechnology company Roche to test a new mobile app that aims to improve monitoring of symptoms in people who have multiple sclerosis (MS). The app, called Floodlight, “may give neurologists access to meaningful, actionable patient data to…

Corrona has expanded its collaborative multiple sclerosis (MS) U.S. patient registry to include Genentech, the first pharmaceutical company to participate. Established in 2017, the Corrona MS Registry is a real-world U.S.-based registry, developed in collaboration with the National MS Society. Its goal is to help guide treatment decisions based on…

Treatment with Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) decreases the levels of neurofilament light chain (NfL) and immune B-cells in the serum and central nervous system of patients with relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS), according to results from a Phase 3 trial. The research, “Ocrelizumab treatment reduced levels of neurofilament light chain and…

After first rejecting it due to cost-effectiveness concerns, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has now approved the use of Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) for people in the U.K. with early, inflammatory primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS). This means that PPMS patients living in the…

Early, one-year data from the Phase 3 CHORDS study show that Ocrevus effectively prevents relapses and disease progression in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) patients who have had poor responses to other disease-modifying therapies. These interim results were presented at the 2019 annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) in…

Higher exposure to Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) is associated with greater immune B-cell depletion in the blood, and lessened risk of disability progression in patients with relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS) and primary progressive disease (PPMS), according to new research. The study supporting that finding, “Pharmacokinetics, Pharmacodynamics and…

I spend a great deal of time in my head. I think. A lot. Perhaps I do so more than I should, but then again, it is a haven at times. My thoughts run the gamut from the serious to the inane. Today my thoughts…

This year’s John Dystel Prize for Multiple Sclerosis Research is being awarded to Anne H. Cross, a neurologist and MS chair in the department of neuroimmunology at  Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, for her research into the role of immune B-cells in multiple sclerosis attacks and new imaging…

Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) was shown to be a highly effective therapy for people with multiple sclerosis (MS) in real-world clinical practice, according to Brandon Moss, MD, from the Cleveland Clinic. The data was presented in a poster session Feb. 28, at the Americas Committee…

This probably won’t come as a surprise to you if you’re on Medicare: It’s getting harder to obtain approval for many of the disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) prescribed for people with multiple sclerosis (MS). I see complaints about this all the time on social media. Now, research reported in…

Treatment with Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) has superior or comparable effectiveness and a similar safety profile to other available disease-modifying treatments (DMTs) for treating relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a new review study. The research, “Systematic review and network meta-analysis comparing ocrelizumab with other treatments for…