Multiple Sclerosis Drug: FDA Approves Ocrelizumab For Treatment

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recently approved ocrelizumab drug for the treatment of a rare form of multiple sclerosis.

Multiple sclerosis is a neurological disorder, which affects thousands of people and commonly women in the United States.

Ocrelizumab Drug For Multiple Sclerosis Treatment
Multiple sclerosis is a nervous disorder, new drug called ocrelizumab found to reduce attacks and symptom progression in patients.

‘Ocrelizumab drug is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of a rare form of multiple sclerosis.’

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Billy Dunn, M.D., director of the Division of Neurology Products in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said, “Multiple sclerosis can have a profound impact on a person’s life.”

“This therapy not only provides another treatment option for those with relapsing MS, but for the first time provides an approved therapy for those with primary progressive MS.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, around 15% of patients have primary progressive multiple sclerosis.

Ocrelizumab Drug Show Promising Results for the Treatment of Multiple Sclerosis
Ocrelizumab drug targets B cells and shows promising results for the treatment of multiple sclerosis.

Ocrelizumab Drug
Ocrelizumab drug is a monoclonal antibody which comes under the name Ocrevus. The intravenous infusion is administered every six months. The drug mainly acts by stamping out the class of the immune cells known as B cells.

Clinical Trial Findings

The findings of the drug showed that the progression of primary progressive multiple sclerosis was slowed down by 24% when compared with placebo.
The relapse rates of multiple sclerosis showed 46% drop in annual relapse rates when compared to other drugs like interferon.
Around 48% of the patients in the relapsing- remitting multiple sclerosis had no relapses and had no worsening symptoms of neurological symptoms.

Side Effects

Itchy skin
Rashes or redness of the skin
Low blood pressure
Fever
Tiredness
Dizziness
Headache
Breathing difficulties
Upper Respiratory tract infections

Multiple Sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis is a chronic, autoimmune disease of the central nervous system found to disrupt the communication between the brain and the other parts of the body.

Multiple sclerosis - Symptoms - Causes - Diagnosis - Treatment
Multiple sclerosis can be a severely disabling autoimmune disease that affects the myelin or insulating layer of the nerve fibers and typically has remissions and relapses

Symptoms of multiple sclerosis usually occur between the age of 20 and 40 years.

There is no specific treatment for primary progressive multiple sclerosis and the drug is found to reduce relapse rates and the worsening of disability when compared to other drugs.

About Chemotherapy Drugs
Chemotherapy drugs perform like ‘magic bullets’ to destroy cancer cells in the body.

Further, the FDA has granted approval for the drug to Genentech. The drug will be made available at a price of $65000 per year.

Source-Medindia