Tag Archives: Multiple Sclerosis

FDA approves Roche’s injectable version of blockbuster multiple sclerosis drug

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Ocrevus should be available as a 10-minute injection starting in October

Swiss pharma giant Roche won approval from the Food and Drug Administration on Friday for an injectable version of its blockbuster multiple sclerosis therapy Ocrevus, cutting down the time needed to treat patients and potentially staving off growing competition.

The approval was driven by the results of a late-stage trial, OCARINA II, in which the company showed that delivering Ocrevus as a 10-minute injection beneath the skin worked as well as the current approach, an hours-long intravenous infusion.

David Jones, medical director at Roche subsidiary Genentech, told STAT that the injectable drug should be available starting in October. The announcement means multiple sclerosis patients will be able to get the treatment in neurologist’s offices and won’t need to travel to specialized infusion centers. The approval could also help Roche fend off competing multiple sclerosis products from Novartis and TG Therapeutics.

Ocrevus is approved to treat relapsing and primary progressive forms of multiple sclerosis, an autoimmune disease that damages nerve fibers throughout the brain and spinal cord. The drug is an antibody that latches onto CD20, a molecule made by B cells, a type of immune cell. It’s Roche’s best-selling product, and brought in more than $7 billion in sales last year.

Patients need two infusions a year, and each of those appointments can last up to six hours. To cut that time down, Roche partnered with Halozyme, a San Diego biotech focused on drug delivery. The company has developed a technology that breaks down sugar molecules in the skin so that intravenous drugs can be delivered as injections.

https://www.statnews.com/2024/09/13/fda-approves-roche-injectable-multiple-sclerosis-drug-ocrevus/

What causes multiple sclerosis—and why are women more at risk?

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“Around 2.9 million people worldwide—roughly one million in the United States—have multiple sclerosis or MS; Applegate and The Sopranos star Jamie-Lynn Sigler are two of them. In their podcast, the actresses speak candidly about their experiences with the disease.
MS affects the central nervous system, the brain and spinal cord. The immune system attacks sheaths of a material called myelin that surround nerve fibers. Like insulation on wires, myelin protects nerves and helps transmit signals. But when myelin deteriorates, the nerve fibers underneath are exposed. This disrupts the brain’s communication and leaves behind lesions, which can cause a myriad of symptoms as the disease progresses.”

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/multiple-sclerosis-ms-cause-treatment-ebv

Obesity medications linked to reduced chance of MS in real world

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TL:DR Mounjaro, Zepbound, Wegovy and Ozempic linked to reduced chance of getting MS!

From the Article:

The use of obesity medications — approved drugs for treating diabetes and promoting weight loss — is associated with a reduced chance of developing multiple sclerosis (MS), according to real-world data from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a study found.

In particular, medicines that activate a receptor called GLP-1, which lowers blood glucose or blood sugar levels, all showed potential protective effects against MS.

“These findings suggest a potential for repurposing these medications for MS,” the researchers wrote.

Their study, “Exploring the association between weight loss-inducing medications and multiple sclerosis: insights from the FDA adverse event reporting system database,” was published in the journal Therapeutic Advances in Neurological Disorders.

Obesity is a well-known driver of chronic inflammation in the body, which can help set the stage for the development of MS, an inflammatory disorder affecting the brain and spinal cord.

Research has shown that obesity in early childhood or adolescence increases the risk of MS. It also worsens outcomes for newly diagnosed patients, and is linked to less favorable responses to disease-modifying therapies.

5 conditions MS patients may have years before diagnosis

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People with multiple sclerosis (MS) are more likely to experience depression, sexual dysfunction, constipation, inflammation of the bladder, and urinary tract infection in the five years leading up to their diagnosis than those without the disease, a study found.

These findings parallel growing evidence that there’s a prodromal phase, in which certain unspecific symptoms become evident, sometimes years before the classic symptoms of MS emerge.


https://multiplesclerosisnewstoday.com/5-symptoms-ms-patients-years-before-diagnosis-idd-study/