‘Landmark’ multiple sclerosis drug praised

Doctor and charities have claimed that trials of a drug that alters the immune system is a ‘landmark’ in the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS).

Updates on the trial of ocrelizumab, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, suggest that the drug can slow damage to the brain in two forms of MS.

Currently being reviewed for use in the US and Europe, ocrelizumab is the first drug shown to work in the primary progressive form of the disease.

MS, caused by a rogue immune system mistaking part of the brain for a hostile invader and attacking it, destroys the protective coating that wraps round nerves called the myelin sheath. Ocrelizumab kills a part of the immune system which are involved in the assault on the myelin sheath.

The trials indicate that of the 732 patients with progressive MS monitored, the percentage of patients that had deteriorated fell from 39 per cent without treatment to 33 per cent with ocrelizumab. Those taking the drug also reported needing less time to walk 25 feet and had less brain loss detected on scans.

Additionally, of the 1,656 patients with relapsing remitting, the relapse rate with ocrelizumab was half that of using another drug.

Dr Aisling McMahon, the head of clinical trials at the MS Society, commented: "This is really big news for people with the primary progressive form of multiple sclerosis. It's the first time a treatment has shown the potential to reduce disability progression for this type of MS, which offers a lot of hope for the future."