Treatment

Pharmascience recently launched pms-Fingolimod, a generic version of Novartis’ Gilenya (fingolimod), to treat adults with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) in Canada. The new generic is now available in that country, and has demonstrated efficacy and safety similar to Gilenya. Generic medicines are chemically identical to the original branded therapy, but carry a…

Siemens Healthineers has signed a license and supply agreement with Quanterix that helps it in developing blood tests for neurofilament light chain (NfL) to aid in early disease detection, evidence of progression, and measuring treatment response in people with neurological disorders such as multiple sclerosis (MS). Siemens Healthineers…

The times we’re living in feel surreal to me. I’m not talking about the current state of U.S. politics, though my opinions could fill a book. I’m talking about how I feel when I read about advances that have been made since my diagnosis three decades ago, and…

A new public-private initiative brings academic and industry researchers from 15 European countries together in a large-scale effort to understand differences and commonalities in seven immune-mediated and inflammatory diseases, including multiple sclerosis, so to better predict a patient’s likely response to treatment and likely disease progression. The project, called 3TR…

Teva Canada announced that Teva-Fingolimod 0.5 mg capsules, a bioequivalent generic version of Novartis’ Gilenya (fingolimod), are now available in Canada and approved by the country’s national health system called Health Canada. Generic medicines are chemically identical to the original branded therapy, but carry a significantly lower cost. Canadian…

It’s time for another update on how I’ve been doing with my Lemtrada (alemtuzumab) treatments. The bottom line is that I’m doing well. Lemtrada is a disease-modifying therapy (DMT) delivered in two stages. The first stage entails a series of five daily infusions, while the second stage…

Topics related to the use and effectiveness of cannabidiol (CBD) and medical marijuana are of increasing interest to many people, including those with multiple sclerosis (MS). A web-based survey hosted by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, with results published in 2017, indicated that as many as…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Vumerity (diroximel fumarate) for the treatment of relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), including clinically isolated syndrome (CIS), relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS), and active secondary progressive disease (SPMS). Vumerity (previously known as ALKS 8700) was developed by Alkermes…

A new Phase 3 clinical trial to explore the safety and efficacy of Mapi Pharma’s once-a-month injectable formulation of glatiramer acetate — named GA Depot — has started enrolling patients with relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS). The trial (NCT04121221) is expected to enroll approximately 960 participants, 18 to 55…

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) tend to have low levels in their blood serum of certain antibodies that can protect against infection, regardless of whether they are using a disease-targeted therapy or not, a study reports. These levels were not so low as to risk infection on their own,…

A question raised by neurologist Gavin Giovannoni on the Barts-MS blog lit up my radar recently. Dr. G asked whether “elderly” people with MS should be treated differently than those who are younger. The question arises because a case of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), a serious…

A twice-daily dosing schedule and side effects like nausea and flushing are key reasons why more than 10% of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients followed for a year stopped using Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate) as prescribed, a single-site study reports. Adherence to treatment is key to patients’ health, and doctors should not…

SARM1 inhibitors are a potential oral treatment to slow disease progression in neurodegenerative diseases like multiple sclerosis (MS), according to preclinical results that show the inhibitors protect nerve cells from damage in mice and cell cultures. Researchers at Disarm Therapeutics presented the findings in a poster titled “…

Vitalis is planning to open a pivotal clinical trial into its new formulation of fumarate, called VTS-72, that has shown promise in easing flushing — a common and troublesome side-effect of Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate), an oral treatment for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). The company announced plans to…

Long-term treatment with Gilenya (fingolimod) in patients with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) is safe and effective, results from a Phase 3 trial show. Trial findings were reported in the study, “Extended treatment with fingolimod for relapsing multiple sclerosis: the 14-year LONGTERMS study results,” published in…

With more high-efficacy therapies becoming available, is it now inappropriate to prescribe older injectables — interferon beta and glatiramer acetate — to people with active relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS)? This question was at the core of what was called a “burning debate” at this year’s European Committee…

The levels of the inflammatory molecule interleukin-22 (IL-22) may be used as a potential biomarker to evaluate disease severity and the effectiveness of treatments in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), a new study shows. The study, “Impact of interferon β-1b, interferon β-1a and fingolimod therapies on serum…

Newer disease-modifying treatments for multiple sclerosis (MS) are effective but also known to carry a greater risk of infections in a patient group already more likely to be troubled by infections — and this higher risk is particularly evident in treatment with rituximab, a DMT often used off-label in…

Early treatment with Tysabri (natalizumab) of patients with aggressive pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis is highly effective at achieving disease activity-free status and preventing cognitive decline, a new study shows. The study, “No evidence of disease activity including cognition (NEDA-3 plus) in naïve pediatric multiple sclerosis patients treated with natalizumab,”…

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society awarded more than $339,000 to Clene Nanomedicine to support clinical tests into its lead candidate CNM-Au8 in treating multiple sclerosis (MS) by protecting nerve cells and restoring myelin. The grant was awarded under the National MS Society’s Fast Forward program, which aims…

Ofatumumab, an investigational B-cell therapy being developed by Novartis, demonstrated encouraging results in lowering relapse rates and active brain lesions in people with relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS) enrolled in the ASCLEPIOS trials. For Stephen L. Hauser, MD, an investigator in the ASCLEPIOS trials, these results represent a…

Immunic Therapeutics announced that a Phase 2 clinical trial of IMU-838, its experimental oral therapy for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), is fully enrolled ahead of schedule. The trial, called EMPhASIS, also exceeded its target number of participants: Immunic set an initial recruitment goal of 195 patients by mid-2020, and enrolled 210…

Metformin, a common diabetes treatment that works to mimic dietary fasting, was seen to promote remyelination in the stem cells of elderly rats, suggesting it may be useful in treating multiple sclerosis. “Metformin Restores CNS Remyelination Capacity by Rejuvenating Aged Stem Cells” was published in…

Prescriptions of two multiple sclerosis (MS) treatments —  Merck KGaA‘s Mavenclad (cladribine) and Roche‘s Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) — have been rising in Europe over the past six months, bolstered by greater market access and compassionate use programs, according to a survey of 250 EU neurologists run…

Through its Stop MS Appeal campaign, the United Kingdom’s MS Society seeks to raise £100 million (almost $125 million) within the next decade to advance research and treatments that will stop multiple sclerosis (MS) progression. Over the next three months, the organization will run an extensive advertising campaign…

The U.S. Supreme Court gave a green light to generic versions of Ampyra this week, declining to hear Acorda Therapeutics‘ appeal of a lower court ruling that allowed generics of its treatment for walking or gait problems in multiple sclerosis. That lower court ruling came from the U.S. District Court…

Targeting the chemokine receptor CXCR6, a protein at the surface of a certain group of T helper cells, prevented the development of multiple sclerosis (MS) in a mouse model of the disease, a study reports. Its findings suggest that antibodies targeting T helper cells — known drivers of MS —…

In this week’s column, I’ve changed the format a little to focus on one subject: rituximab. This is an approved cancer medication that some U.S. neurologists use as an off-label treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS). Rituximab is similar to Ocrevus (ocrelizumab). When the latter disease-modifying therapy (DMT) became available in…

People with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) who don’t use disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) are more likely to have been misdiagnosed previously, and to have poorer relationships with their healthcare providers, the results of a new survey suggest. The survey, titled “Multiple Sclerosis In America 2019,” was conducted by …

Editor’s note: This is the third story in a three-part report examining the question, “Is rituximab a reasonable alternative treatment for MS?”, which was a topic discussed at this year’s Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS). Here, we take an in-depth look…