Tysabri

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) tend to accrue more medical costs after switching to infusible therapies Ocrevus (ocrelizumab), Tysabri (natalizumab), or Lemtrada (alemtuzumab), according to an analysis of data from commercially insured patients in the U.S. “The overall healthcare costs for MS patients increased a lot…

Welcome to “MS News Notes,” a weekly Monday morning column where I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. Here’s a look at what’s been happening: Tysabri biosimilar on the horizon Tysabri (natalizumab) is a very effective disease-modifying therapy (DMT) for…

PB006, a biosimilar to Biogen’s approved treatment Tysabri (natalizumab), showed similar safety and efficacy as the original medication in people with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS), according to data from a Phase 3 clinical trial. “The Antelope trial reported equivalence between [PB006 and Tysabri] treatment across efficacy, safety, and secondary…

People with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) who switch to Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) after discontinuing Gilenya (fingolimod) have fewer relapses than those who switch to Mavenclad (cladribine) or Tysabri (natalizumab), according to a new study. Rates of disability worsening were similar for Ocrevus and Tysabri, but patients who switched…

Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant (aHSCT) is superior to Gilenya (fingolimod) and Tysabri (natalizumab) at preventing relapses and reducing disability in people with highly active relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). In turn, aHSCT appears to be as effective as Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) in RRMS patients and also was…

Multiple sclerosis (MS) patients who started taking Tysabri (natalizumab) long after their diagnosis were found to have worsened disease progression. But those who began using it earlier showed less aggravated clinical and radiological outcomes of the disease than participants who started treatment later, a study showed. The study,…

In multiple sclerosis (MS), disease-causing immune T-cells enter the brain and spinal cord through the protective soft membranes covering them, called the leptomeninges, a new study shows. The findings “suggest that patients with MS could benefit from immunomodulatory therapies that target the leptomeninges,” the researchers wrote, noting these surrounding…

Long-term treatment with Tysabri (natalizumab) significantly improves cognitive function and increases the chance of disability reduction in people with early relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), according to data from the four-year observational STRIVE trial. Patients on Tysabri also reported improved quality of life and less impact of MS on…

People with relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS) treated with Tysabri (natalizumab) or Gilenya (fingolimod) are less likely to have disease activity than those on low-efficacy MS medications, according to a small study conducted in Japan. Results also showed that patients receiving the high-efficacy therapies had less brain shrinkage,…

Anti-CD20 Therapies Help Mount T-cell Response to COVID-19 Vaccines Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been concerns that anti-CD20 therapies, such as Ocrevus (ocrelizumab), may interfere with the ability of a person with MS to fight a COVID-19 infection. But this report says that even if…

Tysabri (natalizumab) outperforms other disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) in its ability to lessen a range of patient-reported symptoms in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to data from a large real-world study. These symptoms include balance difficulties, sensory problems, feelings of anxiety, bladder problems, vision problems, and…

Stem Cell Transplant Found to Reduce MS Relapses, Ease Disability This is excellent news for those of us who would like to see stem cell transplant for MS become more available and affordable. These researchers analyzed 50 studies covering a total of 4,831 people with MS, ages 26 to…

Switching from a standard monthly course of Tysabri (natalizumab) to an extended-interval dosing administered every six weeks does not seem to increase neuronal damage in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), a study found. While individual blood levels of neurofilament light chain (NfL), a biomarker of nerve damage, did…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has agreed to review an application requesting that Polpharma Biologics‘ natalizumab, a biosimilar of Tysabri, be approved to treat relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). Its intended U.S. use is for the same indications as the approved name-brand medicine, covering clinically isolated…

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has agreed to review a request to approve Polpharma Biologics‘ biosimilar natalizumab for the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS). This marks the first time the regulatory agency accepted a marketing authorization application for a biosimilar of Tysabri, an approved MS treatment. “The acceptance…

Gilenya (fingolimod) and Tysabri (natalizumab) were more effective at lowering relapse rates in children with multiple sclerosis (MS) than interferon-beta, according to a recent meta-analysis. Findings like these can be leveraged for better clinical trial design, the researchers wrote. If used to determine “historical” relapse rates that…

Reports of psoriasis — an autoimmune skin disease that shares some biological processes with multiple sclerosis (MS) — are disproportionally high among MS patients on therapies that deplete B-cells, according to a U.S. study based on patient adverse event data. Conversely, patients on Tysabri (natalizumab), glatiramer acetate (sold…

Cannabis ‘Highly Effective’ Against MS Symptoms, Some Users Report I would’ve expected many users to report that cannabis has been highly effective at treating MS symptoms, not just some. But comments about this study on the MS News Today Facebook page indicate that people have mixed results. Even…

Tysabri (natalizumab) given every six weeks was found to be similarly effective as the standard four-week dosing schedule at stopping nervous system damage in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). That’s according to the full results of the Phase 3b NOVA clinical trial, which compared Tysabri dosing schedules…

The majority of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients who stop taking Tysabri (natalizumab) before or when they become pregnant experience a disease relapse during pregnancy or shortly thereafter, according to a study out of Germany. In more than one out of every 10 cases, relapses were so severe that…

KAT7, an enzyme known to regulate gene activity, is essential for the process of teaching immune T-cells to correctly identify the body’s molecules and cells as ‘self’ — a process that goes awry in multiple sclerosis (MS) and other autoimmune diseases. This enzyme is also critical for training T-cells…

Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) may be more effective than Gilenya (fingolimod) at preventing relapse in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) patients who recently transitioned from Tysabri (natalizumab), according to a new study. Ocrevus is “potentially a better exit strategy than [Gilenya] after [Tysabri] cessation, with an impressive reduction [in] risk…

Editor’s note: The Multiple Sclerosis News Today team is providing in-depth coverage of the virtual 37th Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS), Oct. 13–15. Go here to see the latest stories from the conference. Certain types of…

Editor’s note: The Multiple Sclerosis News Today team is providing in-depth coverage of the virtual 37th Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS), Oct. 13–15. Go here to see the latest stories from the conference. People with …

Mutations in the John Cunningham virus may serve as an early predictor for a rare brain infection in multiple sclerosis patients receiving Tysabri (natalizumab), a study suggests. However, more research is required to investigate the specific mutations in the viral VP1 gene, and validate the risk of the…

Risk of Severe COVID-19 Not Raised by Immunosuppressive DMTs Here’s the latest on whether disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) raise the risk of a person having a bad case of COVID-19 if infected with the novel coronavirus. Researchers report here that DMTs don’t increase that risk. But don’t confuse this information…

Tysabri (natalizumab) given every six weeks was as safe and effective over nearly 1.5 years of use as its approved four-week dosing in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), according to top-line data from the Phase 3b NOVA study. Tysabri is typically administered every four weeks, or about…

Removing an ion channel called Piezo1 from immune T-cells lessened disease severity in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis (MS), a study showed. Notably, these beneficial effects were associated with an expansion of regulatory T-cells (Tregs) — a type of immune cell that typically dampens immune and inflammatory responses —…

Tysabri (natalizumab) infusions given in the home to people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) save money and are more convenient, while apparently as safe and effective as those given in clinical settings, a pilot study comparing the two delivery methods reported. Nonetheless, its researchers recommended larger trials be…

Repertoire Immune Medicines and Yale University have entered a research collaboration to identify what type of antigens are activating immune T-cells in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). Antigens are molecular structures, such as a portion of a protein or a specific chain of sugars, that trigger an immune…