February 15, 2018 News by Patricia Silva, PhD FDA Approves Dose of MS Therapy Glatopa That Is Twice as Large as Current One The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a new dose ofĀ Sandozās multiple sclerosis therapyĀ Glatopa (glatiramer acetate injection)Ā that is twice as large as the currently authorized one. Regulators’ approval of theĀ 40 mg/mL applies to people with relapsing forms of MS. A mg/mL designation refers to the concentration of…
February 6, 2018 News by Alice MelĆ£o, MSc #ACTRIMS2018 – Prior Therapies Don’t Affect Gilenya’s Benefits, Study Shows Changing from injectable disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) to Gilenya (fingolimod) can benefit people with relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS), regardless of prior therapy regimens. The PREFERMS Phase 4 trial (NCT01623596) concluded that Gilenya, marketed by Novartis, reduces annualized relapse rates (ARR) and brain volume loss (BVL) in both…
December 20, 2017 News by Alice MelĆ£o, MSc FDA Gives Fingolimod a Breakthrough Therapy Designation for Relapsing MS in Children The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has givenĀ fingolimodĀ a Breakthrough Therapy designation as a treatment for children 10 years and older and adolescents with relapsing multiple sclerosis. NovartisĀ is marketing it in the United States under the brand name GilenyaĀ for adults with relapsing MS. It has yet to approved…
November 14, 2017 News by Alice MelĆ£o, MSc Europe’s CHMP Urges Approval of Ocrevus in EU to Treat Relapsing, Primary Progressive MS Europeans with relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS) andĀ earlyĀ primary progressive MS are one step closer to accessingĀ Ocrevus, now that the European Medicines Agency has urged the European Union to approve the therapy. The positive opinion ā announced inĀ a press release issued Nov. 10 by the EMAās Committee for Medicinal Products for Human UseĀ ā is an intermediary step required in the regulatory pathway to allow patient access to a new drug. The European Commission will now make a final decision on whetherĀ OcrevusĀ should be granted marketing authorization in all 28 EU member states. This decision will take the CHMP recommendation into consideration. If approved, Ocrevus will become the first disease-modifying medicine available throughout Europe for patients with PPMS. Once this happens,Ā any decisions on price or insurance reimbursements will be the responsibility of each member state. OcrevusĀ wonĀ U.S. approval earlier this year. It was alsoĀ recentlyĀ approved in Switzerland for both relapsing MS and PPMS. Ocrevus is an anti-CD20 antibody developed by Genentech, a division ofĀ Roche. It blocks immune B-cells, preventing them from attacking nerve cells and their myelin protective sheath, as well as inhibiting other pro-inflammatory immune signals involved in MS. CHMP based its positive recommendation on data from three pivotal Phase 3 clinical trials: the OPERA I and II trials in relapsing MS patients, and the ORATORIO trial in PPMS patients. Results from the OPERA clinical studies demonstrated that treatment with Ocrevus for up to 96 weeks could reduce the annualized relapse rate by 46.4 percent compared with EMD Seronoās approved drug Rebif (interferon beta-1a) in relapsing MS patients. The ORATORIO trial showed that Ocrevus could reduce by 24 percent the risk of 12-week confirmed disability progression compared to placebo in PPMS patients. Data from the trial further supported the drug's therapeutic benefit in early-stage PPMS patients. Additional studies are warranted to better evaluate the therapeutic potential of Ocrevus for patients with more advanced stages of the disease. The most common treatment-associated adverse effects reported wee infusion-related reactions and infections.
October 27, 2017 News by Patricia Silva, PhD #MSParis2017 ā Phase 3 Trial Data Show Ozanimod Safe, Effective in MS Patients Ozanimod (RPC1063) was seen to lower relapse rates and reduce brain and spinal cord lesions among patients with relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS) participating in a Phase 3 study of the treatment. Giancarlo Comi,Ā from theĀ Vita-SaluteĀ San RaffaeleĀ University, in Italy, announced the results in a presentation during the ongoing…
September 19, 2017 News by Patricia Silva, PhD TG Therapeutics Recruiting Patients for Two Phase 3 Trials of Relapsing MS Therapy TG-1101 TG TherapeuticsĀ is recruiting participants for two Phase 3 clinical trials that will evaluate the safety and effectiveness of TG-1101 (ublituximab)Ā as a treatment for relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis. ULTIMATE 1 (NCT03277261) and ULTIMATE 2 (NCT03277248) will compare TG-1101, aĀ glycoengineered monoclonal antibody, with Genzyme’sĀ Aubagio…
April 19, 2017 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Sanofi Genzyme to Discuss Three Multiple Sclerosis Therapies at Boston Event Sanofi GenzymeĀ will discuss three of its multiple sclerosis therapies at theĀ American Academy of Neurology annual meetingĀ in Boston, April 22-28. The presentations will cover two approved treatments for relapsing MS ā LemtradaĀ (alemtuzumab) and AubagioĀ (teriflunomide) ā and one that has been in a Phase 1 clinical…
April 12, 2017 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Firefighter with Relapsing MS on Ocrevus: ‘I Have Really Good Days and I Have Bad Days’ Texas firefighter Wayne Donovan is amongĀ theĀ estimatedĀ 250,000 to 350,000 Americans with multiple sclerosis (MS). He enrolled in a clinical trial testing Ocrevus (ocrelizumab), which theĀ Ā U.S. Food and Drug Administration recentlyĀ approvedĀ as the first therapyĀ for both relapsing and primary progressive forms of MS. Donovan was diagnosed in 2011 at…
March 17, 2017 News by Patricia Silva, PhD In Reversal, NICE Recommends Relapsing MS Treatment Zinbryta for England and Wales The United Kingdom’sĀ National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has cleared its initial doubts and now recommendsĀ Zinbryta (daclizumab)Ā to treatĀ relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS) in England and Wales. NICE had initially rejectedĀ Zinbryta after a first stage of the drugās review process, due to some issues linked to…
March 2, 2017 Columns by admin 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 Genentechās drug to be a promising therapy for relapsing MS and, significantly,…
February 24, 2017 News by Patricia Silva, PhD #ACTRIMS2017 – Sun Exposure May Lower Fatigue, Slow Disability Progression in MS Spending more time in the sunshineĀ could make people with multiple sclerosis (MS) feel more energetic, though dietary vitamin D intake’s effect is mixed, depending on what type of MS a particular patient has. That’s the conclusion of a study āĀ “Dietary intakes of vitamin D, sunshine exposure, EDSS and fatigue…
February 20, 2017 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Ozanimod Reduces Multiple Sclerosis Relapse Rate, Phase 3 Trial Shows A Phase 3 clinical trial evaluating the safety and effectiveness of ozanimod (RPC-1063) in patients withĀ relapsing multiple sclerosis (RMS)Ā shows treatment reduced the disease’s annualized relapse rate (ARR), researchers reported. The Phase 3 SUNBEAM trial (NCT02294058)Ā testedĀ ozanimod, anĀ oral, selective sphingosine 1-phosphate 1 (S1PR1) and 5 (S1PR5) receptor modulator designed to…
August 17, 2016 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Zinbryta, a Relapsing MS Therapy, Now Available at Diplomat Pharmacy in US Diplomat Pharmacy, theĀ largest independent specialty pharmacy in the U.S., is nowĀ dispensing the limited-distribution drug Zinbryta (daclizumab) as a therapy for relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS). ZinbrytaĀ was recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with relapsing MS.
July 7, 2016 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Zinbryta (Daclizumab) Approved in Europe to Treat Relapsing MS Biogen and AbbVieĀ announced that the drug ZinbrytaĀ (daclizumab) has received marketing authorization by the European Commission, and is an approved treatment across most ofĀ Europe forĀ adults with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). Zinbryta is a self-administered, once monthly subcutaneous injection. āClinical data showed Zinbryta significantly reduced relapses, 24-week…
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…
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…