treatment

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently notified Concert Pharmaceuticals that the company had fulfilled all necessary preclinical toxicological tests for the oral therapy CTP-354 for the treatment of multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury, and spasticity. The authorization to administer repeated doses of the compound, in excess of 6 mg per day,…

A Ph.D. student at the University of Southern California (USC) Viterbi Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical Engineering, Kun Yue, is developing a model of selected brain circuits to study multiple sclerosis (MS) in an effort to develop a nanotechnology based treatment for the disease. Yue believes that new technology can lead…

The UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) gave a positive final appraisal determination to the use of the Biogen Idec‘s drug Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate) in adults for the treatment of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), having turned back on their preliminary negative recommendation. The oral…

Alkermes plc is looking to add one more treatment to the repertoire for multiple sclerosis drugs by initiating a Phase 1 clinical trial study of ALKS 8700. This novel molecule, developed by Alkermes, will be evaluated for safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics. “We expect the results of this study to…

Eight new drugs that are able to stimulate the nervous system were discovered by a research team at UC San Francisco recently. The team utilized a novel screening platform and examined the cellular effects of 1,000 chemical compounds. The scientists believe the discovery may impact the treatment of the tissue…

Startup biotech company ImStem Biotechnology is looking to raise additional funding for their upcoming clinical trials after publishing promising research on a unique stem-cell treatment used on mice with multiple sclerosis.  The company has already received previous funding…

The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC)  announced the approval of the drug Lemtrada, produced by Genzyme, for the treatment of adult patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) and active disease defined by clinical or imaging features, within the national health system (NHS) in Scotland. Lemtrada…

According to a study published in JAMA Neurology, multiple sclerosis patients are greatly benefited by Biogen Idec’s Tysabri (natalizumab) and tend to relapse if they discontinue treatment. Natalizumab had a protective effect on patients who were continuously treated with Tysabri beyond a 24-dose timepoint within the study,…

The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) initiated a clinical trial to evaluate the antihistamine clemastine fumarate, manufactured by Novartis as Tavist, for its efficacy in treating multiple sclerosis patients. The laboratory of Dr. Jonah Chan, a professor of neurology at UCSF, used a high-throughput method to identify Tavist…

Lemtrada, a drug produced by Genzyme for the treatment of adult patients suffering from relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) with active disease, was approved by Argentina’s National Administration of Drugs, Food and Medical Technology (ANMAT). “We are pleased by the continued global support for Lemtrada,” said Genzyme…

Acorda Therapeutics recently announced receiving a notice letter from pharmaceutical company Actavis Plc indicating their plans to commercialize a generic version of Ampyra, Acorda’s multiple sclerosis treatment drug. Acorda claims that Actavis submitted a marketing approval application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) asking permission to develop and commercialize a new drug,…

The Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche recently announced a partnership agreement with California-based Inception Sciences and venture capital firm Versant Ventures. The three companies will work together to form a new company, Inception 5, which will be dedicated mostly to the development of therapies for multiple sclerosis. Inception 5’s research will focus…

Australian biotechnology company Innate Immunotherapeutics’ trial for a drug designed to treat secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) has produced positive results. Innate’s experimental MIS416 has revealed benefits to the majority of SPMS patients who were prescribed it as a “compassionate use drug,” given the total lack of…

Multiple sclerosis patients may soon benefit from StemGenex’s leading resource of adult adipose stem cells. StemGenex is now recruiting patients for a clinical trial investigating the regenerative potential of multiple sclerosis patients’ autologous stem cells derived from their own stromal vascular fraction. “Currently available drugs for multiple…

On June 26th, a conference devoted to the topic of “Demyelination and Remyelination: From Mechanism to Therapy” will be presented by the New York Academy of Sciences and Acorda Therapeutics. The topic hits home to millions of people worldwide suffering from demyelinating diseases, especially those affected by multiple sclerosis.

Newtown, Pennsylvania based Helius Medical Technologies, Inc. announced on June 6th that the company has entered into an agreement and plan of merger whereby the Company has agreed to acquire 100% of issued and outstanding common shares of Neurohabilitation Corporation (“Neuro”) of Delaware by way of a plan of…

The risk of developing lipoatrophy for multiple sclerosis (MS) patients administrated with glatiramer acetate is greater than 60 percent, according to a study developed at the Riverside Medical Clinic that reviewed 73 MS patients. It was already known that the drug could cause the condition, however the rate is higher…

Biogen Idec, who recently presented over 60 company-sponsored presentations at the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers and the Sixth Cooperative Meeting with Americas Committee for Treatment and…

Biogen Idec, a U.S. biotechnology company specializing in therapies for neurological disorders, autoimmune disorders and cancer, has announced that more than 60 company-sponsored presentations highlighting key data from its extensive portfolio of marketed and investigational multiple sclerosis (MS) therapies were featured during two 2014 neurology conferences. The company…

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can predict responses to depression treatment in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to Anthony Feinstein, Professor at the Department of Psychiatry of the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre & the University of Toronto. In the presentation “Depression in MS: Is brain imaging helpful?” at this…

A study involving a clinical trial treating multiple sclerosis patients with sensory training was published in Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation and reports optimistic results. Lead author Davide Cattaneo,…

A new study may offer new insight on beneficial effects of “chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency” (CCSVI or CCVI) treatment for Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and certain other disease conditions. CCSVI is the controversial theory that blocked neck veins are a major factor in many MS cases proposed by Italian physician…

ImStem Biotechnology, Inc. is one step closer to harnessing the power of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) to treat multiple sclerosis. Most recently, ImStem announced the successful treatment of an animal model of multiple sclerosis (experimental autoimmune encephalitis, EAE) using mesenchymal stem cells derived from hESCs (hES-MSCs). Using hES-MSCs…

Charles Moore, Science and Research Editor of Multiple Sclerosis News Today, recently reported two controversial, potential treatment options for multiple sclerosis. The first, “liberation therapy,” was conjured by Dr. Paolo Zamboni in…

A new report was recently released outlining researchers’ ongoing goals and focus points for advancing MS drug development and treatment options. “Multiple Sclerosis Management – A Changing Landscape 2013” is the result of a meeting held in Vienna, Austria in April of 2013 that brought together 372…

Research from the State University of New York at Buffalo suggests a protective link between interferon beta-1a treatment and brain volume loss (atrophy) in patients with relapse-remitting multiple sclerosis. Michael Dwyer, PhD, presented his study at the 2014 Annual Meeting of the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC) and…

Cambridge, Mass. Based Genzyme, a Sanofi subsidiary, announced May 30 that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for review the company’s resubmission of its supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) seeking approval of its proprietary drug Lemtrada (alemtuzumab) for treatment of relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS).

A new study on mice published in Nature Neuroscience finds that fingolimod (Novartis brand name Gilenya) a first-in-class sphingosine-1-phosphate-receptor modulator currently used in treating persons with severe relapsing remitting MS, may also have therapeutic value in treating Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The Nature Neuroscience study is titled…

The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency recently offered a positive opinion for the marketing authorization of Biogen Idec’s Plegridy therapy, a pegylated interferon administered subcutaneously for adults with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). The positive opinion will now be sent to the European Commission, which grants…

Inovio Pharmaceuticals, a drug development company working on treatments that modulate therapeutically important immune responses with the help of T-cells, recently acquired the worldwide rights (apart from China), to conduct pre-clinical studies to produce products for possible therapies to treat and manage Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and Multiple Sclerosis (MS).