People in Australia with multiple sclerosis (MS) and certain other medical conditions will have access to new and expanded medications — including Kesimpta — now listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS). Having these medications on the PBS will lower treatment costs for MS patients and their…

“A river cuts through rock not because of its power, but because of its persistence.” — James N. Watkins Fatigue is arguably the most disruptive symptom of multiple sclerosis (MS). At least it is for me. It has an awful lot to answer for. And it will.

Women with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS) who suspend their use of fingolimod — sold as Gilenya, among others — to conceive or during the early stages of pregnancy have a significantly higher risk of relapse during and after pregnancy, a new study finds. Stopping fingolimod resulted in a…

Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) safely and effectively prevents relapses and disease progression in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) patients who responded poorly to other disease-modifying therapies (DMTs), final two-year data from the CHORDS Phase 3b clinical trial show. Notably, these benefits also were observed among patients who enrolled in the study…

Adults in Scotland with active relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) will now have access at low or no cost to Kesimpta (ofatumumab), the first self-administered, at-home B-cell-targeting therapy for people with the neurodegenerative disease. The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) recommended that the Novartis therapy be available through the…

Biogen has signed a deal with InnoCare Pharma to acquire global commercialization and licensing rights to orelabrutinib, an experimental oral BTK inhibitor (BTKi) now being tested in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) in a Phase 2 clinical trial. Under the terms of the agreement, Biogen will have…

A Phase 1 clinical trial investigating ANK-700 as a means to restore immune tolerance to myelin in people multiple sclerosis (MS) has begun dosing participants. Currently recruiting at a single site in Tennessee, the trial (NCT04602390) is expected to enroll up to 40 patients with relapsing-remitting…

Health Canada has approved Kesimpta (ofatumumab) for the treatment of adults with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) who have active disease, as defined by clinical and imaging features. In contrast with other B-cell-targeting therapies used in MS, patients can self-administer a precise dose of Kesimpta at home using the Sensoready…

Mavenclad (cladribine) prevents relapses and disease progression in more than half of patients with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) for at least five years after the last dose, according to a real-life study from Italy. These findings, based on real-world data from Italian MS patients previously treated…

Treatment with rituximab — sold as Rituxan in the U.S. by Roche and Biogen, and as MabThera by Roche in Europe — reversed disease course in a “dramatic fashion,” leading to complete remission in a 12-year-old boy with aggressive relapse-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), a case report states. The report, “…

Vesicles in the blood that contain a protein called fibrinogen important for blood clotting were found to be “sufficient and required” for the occurrence of spontaneous disease relapses in mouse models of multiple sclerosis (MS), a study reports. In mice, these vesicles were associated with immune cell infiltration, inflammation,…

In clinical practice, relapse events dropped by roughly half over a four-year period in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) patients treated with Aubagio (teriflunomide), a real-world study reports. The study, “Real-life outcomes of teriflunomide treatment in patients with relapsing multiple sclerosis: TAURUS-MS observational study,” also examined patients’ perspectives in…

Living in the U.S., where disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) seem to be prescribed as a matter of course to people with multiple sclerosis (MS), I was surprised that it doesn’t seem to be the case across the pond in the U.K. An article just published on the Multiple…

Artificial Intelligence May Help Reduce Dosage of Gadolinium in MRIs, Researchers Suggest There’s been concern recently about the accumulation of gadolinium in the brains of people who’ve had MRIs. Gadolinium is the dye that’s used to provide the “contrast” that can highlight lesions in the brain that might…

Long-term treatment with disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) appears to lessen the risk of disease worsening in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) patients, an 18-year follow-up study suggests. But these therapies were not seen to benefit those who had progressed to secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS). The study, “Onset of secondary…

One thing we’ve all hoped for with our disease-modifying therapies (DMT) is a treatment that will improve our multiple sclerosis (MS) and not just keep it from worsening. The latest studies presented on Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) hold promise that this treatment may have finally arrived. According to recent reports,…

Recently, Biogen released results from its Phase 2 acute optic neuritis (AON) RENEW trial which tested Anti-LINGO-1. Learn more about this results here. So what is Anti-LINGO-1? According to the MS Society, Anti-LINGO-1 (also known as BIIB033) is a treatment in development by the pharmaceutical company Biogen which is currently…

A team led by researchers at the University of British Columbia in Canada recently published results in the European Journal of Neurology showing that treatment with beta-interferon has no effect on secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) disease onset. The study is entitled “Beta-interferon exposure and…