Ocrevus

Early and continuous use of Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) significantly slows disability progression and delays the time until wheelchair reliance in people with primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS), new Phase 3 data spanning more than six years show. Findings from the ORATORIO trial, comparing immediate use with a two-year delay, support Ocrevus’ sustained…

Phase 3 Trial of Sativex, Cannabis Extract Treatment for MS Spasticity, Opens in US This is a major step toward making a clinically tested, cannabis-based medication available in the U.S. I’ve always thought that medications containing a THC/CBD combination are useful to lessen some MS symptoms, but the lack…

Genentech’s Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) continues to be the most prescribed treatment for people with progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) among U.S. neurologists, according to the latest Spherix Global Insights’ report. However, Novartis’ Mayzent (siponimod) “is beginning to close the gap” with Ocrevus among those with active secondary progressive MS…

Rituximab, an investigational B-cell depletion therapy that target CD20 to treat people with multiple sclerosis (MS), has significant effects on the characteristics of B-cells that return after treatment is stopped, with cells being less mature yet more activated toward a pro-inflammatory state, a study showed. Treatment also…

The use of certain disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) such as rituximab and Ocrevus (ocrelizumab), which lower the number of a patient’s immune B-cells, may increase the odds of developing a more severe COVID-19 disease course for people with multiple sclerosis (MS), a study suggests. The study, which includes data from the…

Among oral sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) receptor modulators for multiple sclerosis (MS), Novartis’s Gilenya (fingolimod) remains physicians’ favorite in the U.S., but prescriptions of recently-launched Bristol Myers Squibb’s Zeposia (ozanimod) are beginning to rise, according to a survey conducted by Spherix Global Insights. Also, COVID-19 not…

Early use of Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) significantly slows shrinkage of the thalamus — a brain region involved in sensory and motor functions — in people with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) and primary progressive MS (PPMS), according to new analyses from three Phase 3 trials that compared immediate use with a two-year…

Roche has launched a Phase 3 clinical trial program to evaluate fenebrutinib, its investigational oral BTK inhibitor, in people with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) and primary progressive MS (PPMS). Data on fenebrutinib’s potency and selectivity, as well as the design of the clinical…

Novartis is not planning to open a clinical trial of Kesimpta (ofatumumab) as a potential treatment for primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS) anytime soon, a company executive said. But it is well aware of the “unmet need” for therapy options among this patient group, and is exploring avenues. “We do…

Switching to Genentech’s Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) following suboptimal treatment responses significantly lessens symptoms and leads to high rates of no evidence of disease activity in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), according to data from a Phase 3b clinical trial. That finding, as well as data about patients’ adherence and…

Paramagnetic Rim Lesions Showing Promise as Diagnostic Marker of MS About a year ago, researchers at the U.S. National Institutes of Health reported that the presence of chronic active lesions in the brain may provide a clue as to how quickly multiple sclerosis symptoms will progress. They called them…

In June, I wrote a column about accepting I’d have to physically retire from directing and producing my own stand-up stage show, “The Edge.” Now, because of that which cannot be named, the show is also being retired just short of its 30-year anniversary! Our very first…

Ocrevus (ocrelizumab), a second-generation anti-CD20 antibody, may be associated with a greater risk of infections. But it carries a lower risk of cancer and immune reactions than first-generation rituximab in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a real-life study. The higher incidence of infections linked with Ocrevus’…

FDA Approves Kesimpta, B-cell Targeting Therapy for Relapsing MS The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval of Kesimpta (ofatumumab) this month is a pretty big deal. Kesimpta is a once-a-month injectable disease-modifying therapy. There’s nothing else like it, because Kesimpta targets B-cells in the immune system. Until now, only…

Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) eliminated the immunity, acquired through vaccination, to the varicella-zoster virus — the virus that causes chickenpox and shingles — in a man with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), a case study reported. …

Maybe I should have called this one “Short and Sharp 2.” Yes, I’ve had another relapse, following my last one in May. I can no longer clean my own tail, and the present regime is literally to “s**t the bed!” I’m using a lot of exclamation points here,…

The Canadian MS Working Group (CMSWG) — made up of neurologists with the Canadian Network of MS Clinics — has updated its recommendations concerning diagnosis and the use of disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) for multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a press release from the MS Society of Canada.

Disability appears to mostly accumulate in people with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) in a progressive manner — rather than being due to relapses, a pooled analysis of patients in two Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) clinical trials shows. These findings, indicating that disease progression underlies relapsing MS as well,…

Switching to Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) within a relatively short period is a safe and effective option for people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) who stop treatment with Tysabri (natalizumab), a small and retrospective analysis suggests. With a median washout period of six weeks between therapies, the 28 patients in this study…

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) approved a shorter infusion time for Ocrevus (ocrelizumab), an approved treatment for people with relapsing or primary progressive multiple sclerosis (MS). The approval follows a positive recommendation from EMA’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP),…

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…

New Nanosensor May Help to Diagnose MS at Early Stages My neurologist likes to say that “brain is time.” The sooner MS is treated the more time you can buy before the brain begins to deteriorate and MS symptoms appear. Being able to diagnose MS sooner means earlier treatment.

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…

Shorter Ocrevus Infusion Time Up for Approval in US and Europe One of the drawbacks to infusion therapies is the time a patient spends in a recliner receiving the medication. For Ocrevus (ocrelizumab), nearly half a day is required for the infusion itself. Add on pre-infusion care and post-infusion…

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…

Prescriptions of Roche’s Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) among multiple sclerosis (MS) patients initiating or switching a disease-modifying therapy (DMT) continue to rise in Europe, according to a survey conducted by Spherix Global Insights. Ocrevus, an anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody administered directly into a vein, was approved in the European Union to treat active forms…

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…

Ocrevus Use Rises Among New Starters with RRMS, Loses Ground to Other Therapies in PPMS Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) bolted out of the starting gate after it was approved for use in the U.S. about three years ago. However, though its use by people with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis continues…

The medical profession must be sick and tired of patients diagnosing themselves via the wonders of the internet. But as a patient who’s sick and tired, you eventually have to. Medicine is full of orthodoxies that are incredibly hard to shake. When you find yourself at the edge of these…