April 29, 2020 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Ocrevus’ Early Use May Lower Need for Walking Aid by 49% Over 6 Years StartingĀ treatment with OcrevusĀ early can lower almost by half the need for a walking aid inĀ peopleĀ with relapsing forms ofĀ 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…
April 3, 2020 News by Joana Carvalho, PhD Ocrevus Lowers Progression Risk in More Disabled MS Patients, Study Suggests For multiple sclerosis (MS) patients with considerable disability, Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) appears to lower the risk of continued progression in both relapsing and primary progressiveĀ forms of the disease, data from an exploratory and post-hoc analysis of three Phase 3 trials report. These findings were in the study, ā…
September 12, 2019 News by Jose Marques Lopes, PhD #ECTRIMS2019 – No Retinal Thinning with Ocrevus in Relapsing MS Patients, Phase 3 Trials Show Treating relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS) patients with Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) is not associated with retinal thinning ā unlike treatment with Rebif (interferon beta-1a), according to two Phase 3 trials. The findings also showed a link between retinal thinning and brain volume loss. The study, ā…
September 12, 2019 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD #ECTRIMS2019 – 6 Years of Ocrevus Use Tied to Low Rates of Serious Infections Treatment for more than six years with OcrevusĀ (ocrelizumab) is linked to lower levels of blood antibodies among people withĀ primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS) and relapsing MS, but rates of serious infections also remain low, an analysis of data from three Phase 3 trials show. Dropping below a certain…
October 4, 2018 News by Jose Marques Lopes, PhD #ECTRIMS2018 – Genentech to Present Ocrevus-related MS Studies at Conference Treatment with Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) over five years lessened upper limb disability progression in primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS) patients, reduced relapses and brain disease activity in patients with relapsing MS, and helped achieveĀ no evidence of disease progression (NEDA) in a greater proportion of African-descent patients, compared to treatment…
June 19, 2018 News by Alice MelĆ£o, MSc #EAN2018 ā Ocrevus Lowers Relapse Rates Over Long Term and Better Than Rebif Does, Data Show Long-term treatment with Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) Ā ā as well as switching from Rebif (interferon beta-1a) to Ocrevus ā leads to a significant and sustained reduction in disease activity in relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). TheseĀ previouslyĀ reportedĀ findingsĀ are further supported by the latest results drawn from pooled data…
April 20, 2018 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD #AAN2018 – Switching from Rebif to Ocrevus Improves MS, Extension Study Shows Continuous treatment with Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) or switching from Rebif (interferon beta-1a)Ā to Ocrevus leads to aĀ significant long-term reduction in relapsing multiple sclerosis activity, a two-year extension study shows. Ocrevus’s maker, Genentech,Ā drew the results from anĀ open-label extension of the Phase 3 OPERA trials. Researchers will present the findings at…
March 29, 2018 News by Ana Pena PhD Ocrevus Outperforms Rebif in Preventing Relapsing MS Activity, Analysis Shows Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) was more effective thanĀ RebifĀ (interferon beta-1a) at preventing relapsing multiple sclerosis activity, according to an analysis that covered two Phase 3 clinical trials. The comparison dealt with the therapies’ ability to generate and maintain a condition known as no evidence of disease activity,…
August 17, 2017 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Ocrevus Approved in Canada to Treat Relapsing-Remitting MS Health Canada has approved Ocrevus for the treatment of adults with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) with active disease, Roche Canada announced. The approval followed the positive results from the Phase 3 OPERA studies, which evaluated the safety and efficacy of Ocrevus in 825 patients with RRMS. The OPERA 1 and OPERA 2 trials showed that Ocrevus significantly reduced disease activity and disability progression of RRMS patients, with annual relapse rates falling by almost half. Moreover, Ocrevus outperformed Rebif, the standard of care in MS, in slowing worsening of disability and significantly reducing lesions seen on MRI scans over a two-year treatment period. "Ocrevus is a major addition to the treatment options available for MS. The RRMS Ocrevus clinical trial data show a significant reduction in relapses and disease progression, as well as a good safety profile," Daniel Selchen, a neurologist and head of the Division of Neurology at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto, said in a press release. "For appropriate patients, Ocrevus will be of great value in reducing the burden of MS." The treatment's approval, however, did not extend to ā or mention ā people with primary progressive MS, in contrast to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's action in March, which approved Ocrevus for both MS forms. Health Canada did not give address PPMS in its announcement. Estimates are that 100,000 Canadians are currently living with MS, and most have the relapsing form. A number welcomed Ocrevus' arrival for what it offers in their fight against this disease.
May 30, 2017 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD #CMSC17 – Ocrevus Lowers MS Relapse Rates Even Further in Extension Study Multiple sclerosis patients who benefited fromĀ Ocrevus (ocrelizumab)Ā in two Phase 3 clinical trials continued to benefit when they extended their treatment, researchers reported. In fact, their annual relapse rates have fallen even further during the extension study than during the trials. The study, āPreliminary Results of the OPERA I and…
March 28, 2017 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Ocrevus’ Journey from Defiant Idea to Game-Changing Treatment Twenty years ago, the idea that B-cell depletion could treat multiple sclerosisĀ would have been greeted with a hearty laughĀ byĀ any well-respected neurologist or MS researcher ā or perhapsĀ a scoff. But times change and research advances. Today, a medicine that gets rid of certain B-cells may beĀ the most powerful drug yetĀ developed against…
February 28, 2017 News by Patricia Silva, PhD ‘Ocrevus Has the Potential to Change How MS Is Treated,’ Genentech’s Peter Chin Says in Interview March 28, at the latest, may be a historic date for the multiple sclerosis (MS) community ā patients, families, caregivers, researchers, and physicians alike. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will have its say about the marketing approval forĀ Ocrevus (ocrelizumab). The drugĀ willĀ be the first to offerĀ benefit to…
February 28, 2017 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Full Transcript of Interview with Genentech’s Medical Director, Peter Chin, on Ocrevus BelowĀ is a transcript of theĀ Multiple Sclerosis News TodayĀ interview with Dr. Peter Chin ā principal medical director at Genentech ā 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,Ā lookingĀ Ocrevus…
February 27, 2017 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD #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,Ā āNEDA analysis by epoch in patients with relapsing multiple…
February 24, 2017 News by Patricia Silva, PhD #ACTRIMS2017 – 3 Trials Show MS Patients Receiving Ocrevus Had No Elevated Infection Risk A detailed analysis ofĀ 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 ā serious or otherwise. Certain infections, including common colds and influenza, were numerically more common among Ocrevus-treated patients,…
January 3, 2017 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Ocrevus Seen in Phase 3 Trials to Benefit Both Primary Progressive and Relapsing MS Patients Recently published data from three Phase 3 trials of Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) show that the investigational drug does what no other therapy has achieved so far ā working to prevent disease in both relapsing and primary progressive (PP) forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). Publications in the New England Journal…
December 21, 2016 News by Joana Fernandes, PhD FDA Extends Review of Ocrevus as Potential Treatment for Both Forms of MS Until March The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently extended until the end of March its review of the Biologics License Application (BLA) forĀ Ocrevus (ocrelizumab). The application was submitted by Roche, requesting FDA approval forĀ Ocrevus as a treatment for patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) and ā for a first…
December 21, 2016 News by Patricia Silva, PhD New Phase 3 Trial of Ocrevus to Treat RRMS Begins Enrolling Patients in US Genentech is recruiting U.S. participants for a Phase 3 study (NCT02637856) of Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) who were notĀ helped by previous disease-modifying therapies, according to a press release from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. The trial is an open-label study, meaning…
September 15, 2016 News by Joana Fernandes, PhD #ECTRIMS2016 – New Data Show Ocrevus Effective in Treating Primary and Relapsing MS Positive new dataĀ from Phase 3 clinical trials assessingĀ 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 investigationalĀ therapy. The results are being presented at the 32nd Congress of the…
June 6, 2016 News by InĆŖs Martins, PhD #CMSC16 – Genentech’s Ocrelizumab (Ocrevus) a Promising Therapy for Primary Progressive MS; Interview with Lead Researcher Genentech,Ā a member of the RocheĀ Group, was founded more than 35 years ago and has been focused on a variety of research fields, includingĀ 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…
September 29, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Could Genentechās Ocrelizumab Become the First Effective Primary Progressive MS Therapy? Genentech, a leading biotechnology company and member of the Roche Group, recently announced promising results on a pivotal Phase III clinical trial (ORATORIO) assessing its investigational therapyĀ ocrelizumab as a treatmentĀ for patients with primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS). Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, progressive neurodegenerative disorder that results from…