October 19, 2020 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News That Caught My Eye Last Week: Mayzent in the UK, Aubagio and Other DMTs, Unemployment Mayzent Approved for Active SPMS Patients in England and Wales This is great news for people with MS in England and Wales. Mayzent (siponimod) is a needed weapon in the MS battle. It is approved for use in active cases of secondary progressive MS (SPMS), while most other disease-modifying…
June 29, 2020 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News That Caught My Eye Last Week: Mayzent, Hookworm Therapy, Walking and Falling, ADS-5102 NICE Does Not Favor Adding Mayzent to NHS England for Active SPMS Currently, the only disease-modifying therapy approved for use in the National Health Service is Betaferon (interferon beta-1b). That’s a 20-year-old treatment considered to be one of the least effective of the DMTs. NICE concedes that clinical trials…
March 12, 2020 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Ponesimod, Up for Approval, Shows ‘Clear Superiority’ Over Aubagio, Janssen Exec Says Ponesimod may soon be a new oral therapy for people with relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS) in Europe, and a filing for its approval in the U.S. is likely within weeks. Janssen Pharmaceuticals, its developer, submitted an application to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in early March, a first ponesimod filing…
March 6, 2020 Columns by Ed Tobias FDA Approval of Investigational DMT Ozanimod May Be Weeks Away By the end of this month, another disease-modifying therapy (DMT) for multiple sclerosis may be available in the U.S. Ozanimod is an investigational daily pill for the treatment of relapsing MS. The Food and Drug Administration is expected to decide…
March 5, 2020 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Janssen Asks EMA to Approve Oral Ponesimod to Treat Relapsing MS Janssen has submitted an application to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) asking that ponesimod be approved as an oral treatment for adults with relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS) in the European Union. Ponesimod (formerly ACT-128800) is an experimental treatment that targets the sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor…
January 27, 2020 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News that Caught My Eye Last Week: Mayzent for SPMS Approved in EU, Memory Training, Trial of Music-based Product to Improve Walking Mayzent Helps Regulate the Immune System in SPMS, Study Shows Mayzent (siponimod) is one of several disease-modifying treatments that target specific T-cells and B-cells involved in damage to the myelin that protects our nerves. This study reports a significant reduction in these rogue cells within a year of starting…
November 18, 2019 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News that Caught My Eye Last Week: Mayzent in EU for SPMS; Depression, Fatigue, and Quality of Life; Acthar Gel; Soothie Cushion CHMP Favors Mayzent as Oral Treatment Specifically for Active SPMS Patients in EU Mayzent (siponimod) is one of the newest disease-modifying treatments (DMT). I’m pleased that the Committee for Medicinal Products of Human Use (CHMP), which reviews treatments in the European Union, has recommended that the DMT be approved…
September 20, 2019 News by Ana Pena PhD #ECTRIMS2019 – Mayzent’s Benefits from a Patient Perspective a ‘Key Question,’ Says EXPAND’s Principal Investigator The most recent data continue to support Mayzent‘s (siponimod) benefits and provide more insights on how this therapy can make a difference for those with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) — in particular, data showing the therapy lowers the risk of becoming wheelchair-dependent. New results from…
September 20, 2019 News by Ana Pena PhD #ECTRIMS2019 – Ahead for Mavenclad: Fuller Understanding of What Makes It ‘Unique,’ Serono Exec Says in Interview Real-world data continues to support the safety and effectiveness of Mavenclad (cladribine tablets) in treating multiple sclerosis (MS), and several studies underway will help scientists gain in-depth understanding of how Mavenclad works, its impact on the immune system, and the durability of its benefits, an executive with EMD Serono said in an…
April 8, 2019 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News that Caught My Eye Last Week: Mayzent Approval Surprises, Myelin Repair, Monitoring Nerve Inflammation Cleveland Clinic Neurologist Applauds Mayzent’s FDA Approval, But Surprised by Those It May Not Treat When I wrote my “MS Wire” column a few days after Mayzent’s approval, I wondered why the FDA had OK’d the medication for active secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS), but not…
April 8, 2019 News by Jose Marques Lopes, PhD Mayzent ‘Will Change Lives’ of MS Patients Transitioning to SPMS, Novartis Says The “regulatory environment” favored Mayzent (siponimod) being approved as an oral treatment for people with relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS) — specifically, clinically isolated syndrome (CIS), relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), and active secondary progressive MS (SPMS) — a top executive with Novartis said, although the pharmaceutical company had requested a label covering all with SPMS. Dan…
April 2, 2019 Columns by Ed Tobias Mayzent Joins the MS Medication Arsenal, But I Have Questions As you might have heard, a disease-modifying therapy (DMT) for patients with active secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) was approved a few days ago. That’s great news. A medication targeting SPMS is overdue, but it could be better. The DMT is Mayzent (siponimod), a tablet that’s taken…
April 1, 2019 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News that Caught My Eye Last Week: Reaction to SPMS DMT Approval, Ozanimod’s FDA Application, Caregiving Partnerships, a New Preventive Medication? MS Patient Groups React Favorably to Mayzent Approval, But Question Therapy’s Price Tag The approval of this medication is very good news. However, as the headline indicates, it comes with a relatively hefty cost. It’s approved for active secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS), and many of us have SPMS…
