Click here to receive MS news via e-mail
September 17, 2016
LONDON — Data from a large multiple sclerosis patient registry suggest that alemtuzumab (Lemtrada) is more effective in key efficacy measures than two other common drugs for MS and similar in efficacy to a third, a researcher said here
In an analysis covering some 4,500 patients who had recently started alemtuzumab, fingolimod (Gilenya), interferon-beta-1a (Rebif, Avonex), or natalizumab (Tysabri), alemtuzumab was better than fingolimod and interferon for at least one of the following outcome measures: relapse risk, disability progression, or functional improvement, and was not less effective on any efficacy measure, reported Tomas Kalincik, MD, PhD, of the University of Melbourne in Australia.
Alemtuzumab and natalizumab were in a virtual dead heat for relapse prevention and reducing disability progression, Kalincik told attendees at an oral late-breaker session during the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis annual meeting.
There was only one outcome analyzed in the entire study for which alemtuzumab was inferior to another drug: natalizumab was more likely to produce an improvement in functional ability during the first year of treatment, though not in subsequent years.
Continue Reading
MS Views and News
Providing educational information, resources and services for those affected by MS