Is Ocrevus Right for Me? So Close, Yet So Far

History has been made because of a major breakthrough for multiple sclerosis sufferers everywhere. Ocrevus (ocrelizumab), by Genentech, has been finally approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. It is the first drug treatment that includes my type of MS, primary progressive. This is what I’ve…

What Every MS Patient Should Know About Ocrevus and Its Use

With the recent approval of Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) for both primary progressive and relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS), interest in the medication is peaking. To help readers of Multiple Sclerosis News Today better understand this new medication and how it works, as well issues dealing with access, use, and potential side effects, here is a summary…

Diplomat Pharmacy Chosen to Dispense Ocrevus to MS Patients Across US

Diplomat Pharmacy, the largest independent specialty pharmacy in the U.S., has been selected to dispense Ocrevus (ocrelizumab), a limited-distribution drug, to people with relapsing  and primary progressive multiple sclerosis. Ocrevus was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on March 28, becoming the first therapy approved for both RMS and…

Ocrevus’ Journey from Defiant Idea to Game-Changing Treatment

Twenty years ago, the idea that B-cell depletion could treat multiple sclerosis would have been greeted with a hearty laugh by any well-respected neurologist or MS researcher — or perhaps a scoff. But times change and research advances. Today, a medicine that gets rid of certain B-cells may be the most powerful drug yet developed against…

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,…

#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,…

Reports on MS Treatment Market Show Growing Shift to Oral Therapies

The multiple sclerosis (MS) market shifted during 2016, with oral disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) capturing a greater share and Sanofi-Genzyme’s Aubagio (teriflunomide) being poised for growth, according to a press release from Spherix Global Insights. The conclusions were included in the company’s “RealTime Dynamix: Multiple Sclerosis,” a quarterly report based…

Top 10 Multiple Sclerosis Articles of 2016

A number of important discoveries, therapeutic developments, and events related to multiple sclerosis (MS) were reported daily by Multiple Sclerosis News Today throughout 2016. Now that the year is over, it is time to briefly review the articles that appealed most to our readers. Here are the top 10 most-read articles of 2016, with…

Still Waiting on Ocrevus

  Several months ago I wrote a blog on my personal website about Ocrevus (ocrelizumab), the first drug that’s designed specifically to treat primary progressive, as well as remitting, multiple sclerosis. The clinical trials for Ocrevus posted excellent results. The buzz in the medical community was good,  and it was…

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…