June 29, 2016 News by InĆŖs Martins, PhD 1st Potential Therapy for Primary Progressive MS, Ocrelizumab, Under Priority Review by FDA The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is givingĀ priority review to a request to approveĀ Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) as a treatment forĀ both forms of multiple sclerosis, the drug’s developer,Ā Genentech, announced. If the company’s Biologics License Application (BLA) is approved,Ā Ocrevus will become the first drug ableĀ to treat patients with either relapsing or…
June 24, 2016 Columns by admin MS Patients Need a Drug Therapy Without Awful Side Effects Never having been offered, let alone received any disease modifying therapy, I can address the subject of disease modifying therapies, and their side effects, with complete impartiality. Of course, the reason for the lack of any medication is because none has yet been approved for use with MS patients who…
June 10, 2016 News by InĆŖs Martins, PhD Multiple Sclerosis Treatment Targeting Immune Cells Begins Phase 1 Trial Arrien PharmaceuticalsĀ has initiated Phase 1 clinical trials of their first agent, ARN-6039, a molecule that targets a specific subset of immune cells called T helper 17 (Th17), for the potential treatment of patients with relapsing, remitting, and progressive multiple sclerosis (MS). A growing body of evidence has suggested a…
June 6, 2016 News by Patricia Silva, PhD #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/Genentechās investigational drugĀ 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 “…
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…
June 3, 2016 News by Patricia Silva, PhD #CMSC16 – Study of PPMS Patient Characteristics Highlights Need for More Information PeopleĀ with primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS)Ā are usually older and more disabled than thoseĀ withĀ relapsing-remitting MS, researchers atĀ Washington UniversityĀ reported. The team is studying demographic and clinical characteristics of PPMS patients enrolled in theĀ NARCOMSĀ registry, to better understand their unmet needs and possibly improve research into potential treatments. The study, ā…
March 23, 2016 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Potential Progressive MS Treatment, Ibudilast, Approved for Fast Track Development by FDA MediciNova, Inc.,Ā announced that MN-166 (ibudilast) has been approved for “fast track” development byĀ the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)Ā as a potentialĀ treatment forĀ progressive multiple sclerosis (MS).Ā Progressive MS includesĀ both the primary progressive (PPMS) and secondary progressive (SPMS) forms of the disease. MediciNovaās MN-166 was licensed from Kyorin Pharmaceuticals for its potential…
March 10, 2016 News by admin Andrea Kaiser Shares Her PPMS Journey Through to Stem Cell Therapy in Exclusive Interview Andrea Perry Kaiser is a woman on a mission. The Long Beach, New York, resident is soon toĀ undergo hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) for her multiple sclerosis (MS). Kaiser contacted Multiple Sclerosis News Today to chronicle her journey, both before and following the treatment. She received aĀ primary progressive multiple sclerosis…
February 19, 2016 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Progressive MS Trials May Need a ‘Tailored’ MRI Approach, Researcher Tells ACTRIMS 2016 Dr. Daniel S. Reich with Johns Hopkins UniversityĀ isĀ givingĀ an oral talk on āMRI as an Outcome Measure in Progressive Multiple Sclerosisā at Friday’sĀ ACTRIMS Forum 2016.Ā This year’sĀ meetingĀ focuses on progressive MS, and runs through Saturday, Feb. 20, in New Orleans. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been the…
February 19, 2016 News by Margarida Azevedo, MSc ACTRIMS 2016 Talk Weighs Clinical Differences, Similarities in 2 Major Forms of MS Dr. Wayne Moore, from the University of British Columbia and the Vancouver General Hospital, will present an overview and analysis of the major histology and pathology aspects that characterize and differentiate relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) and progressive forms of the disease, primary progressive MS (PPMS) and secondary progressive MS (SPMS).
February 18, 2016 News by Margarida Azevedo, MSc NIH Study into Progressive MS Biomarkers to Be Presented at ACTRIMS 2016 Scientists fromĀ the Neuroimmunological Diseases Unit at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will present results ofĀ a study investigating several biomarkers that might leadĀ to a more sensitive and accurate diagnostic test of central nervous system (CNS) inflammation, aĀ keyĀ aspect ofĀ progressive multiple sclerosis (MS). The data is being reportedĀ today, Feb.18, at the…
February 18, 2016 News by BioNews Staff FDA Grants ‘Breakthrough Therapy’ Designation to Genentechās Ocrelizumab for PPMS Genentech recently announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted its investigational medicine ocrelizumab, a potential treatment forĀ primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS),Ā Breakthrough Therapy DesignationĀ based on positiveĀ Phase 3 clinical trial results showing thatĀ ocrelizumab significantly reduced disability progression and other disease activity markers compared toĀ placebo. The FDA designation is…
February 2, 2016 News by admin Individual with PPMS Shares His Experience of Undergoing Stem Cell Therapy Geoff Flynn,Ā 42, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) two and a half years ago. As unsettling as that diagnosis was, more troubling ā both then and now ā were the five long years of struggle it took for him to get a proper evaluation as to the cause ofĀ his neurological…
December 14, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD 2016 Multiple Sclerosis Forum to Focus on Distinctions in Disease Forms Dr. Jerry S. WolinskyĀ ofĀ the University of Texas in Houston, will giveĀ the first Kenneth P. Johnson Memorial Lecture at the opening day of the Americas Committee for the Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ACTRIMS) Forum 2016 in New Orleans, focusing on distinctions between relapsing and progressive disease forms. ACTRIMS…
November 11, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Roche to Pursue MS Ocrelizumab Drug Market Authorization RocheĀ 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…
October 27, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD 2 Forms of Multiple Sclerosis Exhibit Differences in Cognitive Performance Study In a recent study published in the journal PLOS One, a team of researchers explored the differences in cognitive performance and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) correlates of cognitive deficits in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosisĀ (RRMS) and patients with primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS) to underscore the importance…
October 9, 2015 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Ocrelizumab: Could Genentech/Rocheās Experimental Drug Be the First Effective Progressive MS Therapy? Roche announced positive results for three pivotal Phase III studies of experimental MS therapy ocrelizumab in relapsing multiple sclerosis and primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS) patients at this year’s ECTRIMS 2015 conference. The results, particularly for treating PPMS, indicate that the novel therapy may represent…
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…
September 17, 2015 News by Malika Ammam, PhD Ocrelizumab: a Promising New Treatment for Multiple Sclerosis with Minimal Side Effects On September 16, 2015, Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche announced that ocrelizumab, a drug originally designed to treat rheumatoid arthritis that saw its development stopped due to an association with infections, could potentially treat relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) as well as primary progressive MS (PPMS) with minimal sides effects compared…
June 15, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD MediciNova Announces Update On Phase 2b Trial of MN-166 (Ibudilast) Involving 255 Progressive MS Patients MediciNova, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on acquiring and developing novel, small-molecule therapeutics for the treatment of diseases with unmet medical needs, recently announced that the ongoing clinical trial of MN-166 (ibudilast) in patients with progressive multiple sclerosis (progressive MS) has finished the randomization of 255 patients, exceeding the…
May 8, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD MediciNova Completes Enrollment for Phase 2b Study of Experimental Progressive Multiple Sclerosis Treatment MediciNova, Inc., a publicly-traded biopharmaceutical company developing novel, small-molecule therapeutics for the treatment of diseases with unmet medical needs, recently announced that the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) notified the company of full enrollment of theirĀ ongoing clinical study evaluating ibudilastĀ (MN-166) for the treatment of progressive…
April 22, 2015 News by Maureen Newman Progressive MS Pipeline Slowly Filling With New, Experimental Therapies As the most common non-traumatic cause of disability in young people in the industrialized world, multiple sclerosis affects more than 2.5 million people globally. Those who suffer with the diseaseĀ are categorized into two types of multiple sclerosis patients: those with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) make up the majority of patients…
April 8, 2015 News by Charles Moore MedDay Updates Status Of Pioneering Pivotal Phase III Study Design In Progressive Multiple Sclerosis MedDay, a Paris, France based biotechnology company specializing in treatment of neurological disorders, has released more information regarding the design of its (MS-SPI) clinical trial that is investigating the efficacy and safety of the investigational medicine MD1003 in treatment of primary and secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (MS). Progressive…
January 19, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD MedDay Provides Update on Pipeline Progress for Primary & Secondary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis Drug MedDay, a biotechnology company that develops new drugs for nervous system disorders, announced an update on the progress of its development pipeline with its leadĀ product MD1003 for the treatment of primary and secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (MS). The first study is expected to be complete in early 2015, while…
December 8, 2014 News by Isaura Santos Disappointing Results for Fingolimod Phase III Trial In Primary Progressive MS Novartis International recentlyĀ provided an update on itsĀ fingolimod Phase III trial evaluating the use of the drug inĀ primary progressive multiple sclerosisĀ (PPMS), reporting that the study did not reveal any significant benefits of prescribing fingolimod over a placebo.Ā However, results regarding…
September 23, 2014 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Researchers Reveal Relevance of Microparticle Levels in MS, Clinically Isolated Syndrome Researchers are continuing to make headway in discovering new insights into how MS works, which in turn could lead to next-generation therapies. A new study shows that in the early stages ofĀ multiple sclerosisĀ (MS), plasma micro particles act as biomarkers as well as pathological factors that induce endothelial permeability and…