by Marisa Wexler, MS | July 15, 2022
Patients on the experimental therapy also were 32% more likely to have no evidence of disease activity during the trial, meaning that they experienced no relapses, no new or enlarging lesions, and no disability progression.
“The excellent efficacy and low cost of rituximab could make it an attractive first choice for newly diagnosed MS patients, not least in resource-poor areas,” Anders Svenningsson, MD, PhD, a professor at Karolinska Institutet, said in a university press release.
The results were published in The Lancet Neurology, in the study “Safety and efficacy of rituximab versus dimethyl fumarate in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis or clinically isolated syndrome in Sweden: a rater-blinded, phase 3, randomised controlled trial.” The trial was funded by the Swedish Research Council.
Rituximab is an anti-CD20 therapy that is administered via infusion into the bloodstream and works by depleting B-cells, a type of inflammatory immune cell that drives MS damage.
The medication is approved for certain B-cell cancers, but has never been formally approved for MS, where it has been used off-label for many years. Yet, it works much like other anti-CD20 monoclonal antibodies that have been approved to treat MS, including Kesimpta (ofatumumab) and Ocrevus (ocrelizumab).
“Since the patent [on rituximab] has expired, there is no incentive from the pharmaceutical company holding the marketing rights to apply for a new indication,” said Svenningsson, a co-author of the study.
While accumulating evidence supports the use of rituximab for MS, well-controlled Phase 3 trials comparing it against standard therapies are needed before it “can be officially recommended for multiple sclerosis by regulatory bodies,” the researchers wrote.
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