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…

#ACTRIMS2017 – Ocrevus Significantly Decreases Disease Activity in MS Patients, Study Shows

Ocrevus (ocrelizumab), an investigational monoclonal antibody, significantly decreases disease activity in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), and is associated with a higher proportion of patients reaching no evidence of disease activity (NEDA), according to a new analysis. The study, “NEDA analysis by epoch in patients with relapsing multiple…

#ACTRIMS2017 – 3 Trials Show MS Patients Receiving Ocrevus Had No Elevated Infection Risk

A detailed analysis of relapsing and primary progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) patients in the three Phase 3 trials of Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) showed that the treatment did not significantly increase their risk of infections — serious or otherwise. Certain infections, including common colds and influenza, were numerically more common among Ocrevus-treated patients,…

#ACTRIMS2017 – No Evidence of Progression More Likely Among PPMS Patients on Ocrevus

Genentech’s Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) increased the proportion of patients with no evidence of progression (NEP) in the recently concluded ORATORIO Phase 3 clinical trial in patients with primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS). The evaluation of NEP — a combined measure of three disability assessments — was a secondary exploratory endpoint of…

Letter to a Scared Young Woman

Dear Lauren Parrott, I know you’re scared. The fears that you shared in your video blog ring true to any of us who have faced the unknowns of a new multiple sclerosis medicine. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eS9-nSfvgSI I’ve been there. I’ve gone through three major multiple sclerosis drugs over the…

MS Drugs – Who’s Using What?

Most of us who live with multiple sclerosis also live with a disease modifying therapy (DMT) — a drug that, we hope, will positively modify the course of our disease. One of the earliest of these was Avonex, a weekly injection into the muscle. I was one of those…

#ECTRIMS2016 – New Data Show Ocrevus Effective in Treating Primary and Relapsing MS

Positive new data from Phase 3 clinical trials assessing Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) as a treatment for both relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) and primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS) were recently announced by Roche, the company responsible for marketing and developing this investigational therapy. The results are being presented at the 32nd Congress of the…

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…

Study of Potential Therapy for Relapsing MS That Targets B-Cells Now Recruiting Patients in US

Patients with relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS) are being recruited for a clinical trial evaluating an experimental monoclonal antibody called ublituximab, the National MS Society announced in a recent news release. The study, being conducted at seven U.S. sites, will enroll at least 24 patients, but this number can go up to 100. MS is considered to be…

1st Potential Therapy for Primary Progressive MS, Ocrelizumab, Under Priority Review by FDA

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is giving priority review to a request to approve Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) as a treatment for both forms of multiple sclerosis, the drug’s developer, Genentech, announced. If the company’s Biologics License Application (BLA) is approved, Ocrevus will become the first drug able to treat patients with either relapsing or…

#CMSC16 – Ocrevus (Ocrelizumab) in PPMS Prevented Disability Progression, Lowered MRI Lesion Volume, Study Shows

Data recently presented at the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC) 2016 Annual Meeting showed that Roche/Genentech’s investigational drug ocrelizumab (Ocrevus) lowered the risk of disability progression in primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS), a condition for which no approved treatments exist. The study was presented during the “…

#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…

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…

Top 10 Multiple Sclerosis Articles of 2015

Multiple Sclerosis News Today has reported the latest therapies, clinical trial developments, and events in multiple sclerosis (MS) on a daily basis throughout the past year. As 2015 comes to an end, here are the year’s 10 articles most widely read by  Multiple Sclerosis News Today readers, each with a brief summary of the developments…

Roche to Pursue MS Ocrelizumab Drug Market Authorization

Roche recently provided an update on their late-stage pipeline products across several therapeutic areas, including ocrelizumab for the treatment of multiple sclerosis. The data was disclosed on Nov. 5 at the Roche Pharma Day 2015 event in London, U.K. Ocrelizumab was previously revealed to be the first investigational medicine…

#Ocrelizumab – How Ocrelizumab Works

Ocrelizumab, an anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody, targets mature B-cells. Almost 95% of the B-cell population has these antigenic epitopes after maturation and does not shed them, which is what makes it a potent marker for therapeutic purposes (cancer being a very common area of interest in this regard). Read more…

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…