Ocrevus

One of the key considerations when choosing a disease-modifying therapy (DMT) is how much it will disrupt your life. It’s one of several factors that need to be evaluated. Unlike shots and pills, infusion treatments can require a significant amount of time. That’s why the U.S. Federal Drug…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a shorter infusion time of Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) for treating relapsing or primary progressive multiple sclerosis (MS). Infusion refers to the slow delivery of a therapy directly into the bloodstream over a period of time. The decision shortens the twice-yearly infusion…

Tysabri Affects Immune System Beyond Known MS Target, Study Finds Tysabri (natalizumab) slows multiple sclerosis progression by blocking some immune cells from entering the central nervous system, where they attack the myelin coating of nerves. Yet this study shows that Tysabri may also significantly reduce the number of proteins…

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…

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…

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…

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…

Immune B-cells are more abundant and have a pro-inflammatory profile in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), the fluid that bathes the central nervous system,  compared to blood in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), a study reports. The results suggest that therapeutic strategies targeting the CSF B-cells could constitute a…

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…

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. …

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…

Air Pollution of Urban Life Raises MS Risk, Study from Italy Suggests I grew up in New York City. It’s hard to get more urban than that. There weren’t many factories spewing pollution, but there certainly were a lot of cars, trucks, and buses, and I inhaled more than…

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),…

Ofatumumab (OMB157) elicits a strong and fast reduction in the levels of circulating immune cells in people with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), effectively helping to stop disease activity, according to new data from the Phase 2 APLIOS trial. The medication was also found to be more…

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, “…

I know the new strain of coronavirus is bad, but in the face of impending doom, I’m likely to find humor. Anyone who has had more aggressive disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) like Lemtrada (alemtuzumab) and Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) likely has a compromised immune system. After all, this is exactly what…

Using a patient-friendly autoinjector pen to take monthly doses of ofatumumab — an investigational B-cell therapy for relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS) — is bioequivalent to delivering it via a prefilled syringe, and would allow self-administration of the treatment at home, a study shows. Equal effects…

In this column, I’ll be highlighting some of the research presented at this year’s Americas Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ACTRIMS) Forum, held last week in West Palm Beach, Florida. #ACTRIMS2020 — Remyelination in Adult Animal Brains Possible via Cell Transplant, Study Says You’ll need…

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…