Pilot Study May Lead to Telemedicine Benefiting People with Multiple Sclerosis

Telemedicine, which allows healthcare professionals to evaluate, diagnose and treat patients at a distance with telecommunications technology, may soon benefit people with multiple sclerosis (MS). Elizabeth Morrison-Banks, MD, a health sciences clinical professor at the University of California at Riverside School of Medicine, is planning a pilot one-year study of a home-based…

Ocrevus: Counting Down to Expected FDA Approval

There is now less than a month until the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is expected to approve Ocrevus, generic name ocrelizumab, for use as a therapy for multiple sclerosis. Clinical trials have shown Genentech’s drug to be a promising therapy for relapsing MS and, significantly,…

Full Transcript of Interview with Genentech’s Medical Director, Peter Chin, on Ocrevus

Below is a transcript of the Multiple Sclerosis News Today interview with Dr. Peter Chin — principal medical director at Genentech — about the importance of the pending U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of a Biologics Licensing Application (BLA) for Ocrevus (ocrelizumab). An an indepth article on this interview, looking Ocrevus…

Genentech Enrolling Relapsing MS Patients in Study of Mechanism of Action for Ocrevus

In addition to a new study sponsored by Genentech to test the experimental MS therapy Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) in RMS patients who have had a sub-optimal response to previous disease modifying therapies, the company is also currently recruiting patients with relapsing multiple sclerosis to understand the therapy’s mechanism of action and B-cell biology…

Phase 3 Study of Ocrevus in Relapsing MS Patients Now Recruiting in US and Canada

A Phase 3 clinical trial exploring Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) is now recruiting participants. The trial, sponsored by Genentech (NCT02637856), is seeking patients who have previously taken a disease-modifying treatment that did not adequately control their disease activity. Participants must be between 18 and 55…

#CMSC16 – Genentech’s Ocrelizumab (Ocrevus) a Promising Therapy for Primary Progressive MS; Interview with Lead Researcher

Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, was founded more than 35 years ago and has been focused on a variety of research fields, including cancer, immunology, neurodegenerative disorders, metabolic diseases, and infectious diseases. Genentech has been committed to discovering and developing new medicines for patients with major diseases of the nervous…

#CMSC16 – Study of PPMS Patient Characteristics Highlights Need for More Information

People with primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS) are usually older and more disabled than those with relapsing-remitting MS, researchers at Washington University reported. The team is studying demographic and clinical characteristics of PPMS patients enrolled in the NARCOMS registry, to better understand their unmet needs and possibly improve research into potential treatments. The study, “…

FDA Grants ‘Breakthrough Therapy’ Designation to Genentech’s Ocrelizumab for PPMS

Genentech recently announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted its investigational medicine ocrelizumab, a potential treatment for primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS), Breakthrough Therapy Designation based on positive Phase 3 clinical trial results showing that ocrelizumab significantly reduced disability progression and other disease activity markers compared to placebo. The FDA designation is…

EXCLUSIVE: Genentech/Roche Interview with MS News Today on Promising MS Therapy Ocrelizumab #ECTRIMS 2015

Dr. Peter Chin, a renowned neurologist and Principal Medical Director of Global Neuroscience Development at Genentech, a leading biotechnology company and member of the Roche Group, participated in an exclusive interview with Multiple Sclerosis News Today correspondent Dr. Ana de Barros on the company’s promising multiple sclerosis (MS) therapy…

Could Genentech’s Ocrelizumab Become the First Effective Primary Progressive MS Therapy?

Genentech, a leading biotechnology company and member of the Roche Group, recently announced promising results on a pivotal Phase III clinical trial (ORATORIO) assessing its investigational therapy ocrelizumab as a treatment for patients with primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS). Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, progressive neurodegenerative disorder that results from…