According to a story from Drug Discovery & Development, The European Commission announced its approval of marketing certification for OCREVUS, a treatment for relapsing types of Multiple Sclerosis (MS). The drug was developed by the pharmaceutical company Roche. The treatment was also approved for those MS patients with early progressive MS. Around 700,000 people in Europe are affected by this condition.
Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a disease in which the myelin sheath, an insulating cover that surrounds nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, is destroyed or damaged. This damage disrupts the ability of these cells to communicate with on another, which significantly hampers nervous system function. Symptoms can include psychiatric, physical, and mental problems including muscle weakness, blindness in one eye, double vision, sensation loss or irregularity, and coordination and movement problems. The precise cause is not well understood, although it may be an autoimmune problem or a failure of the cells that create the myelin sheath. The disease manifests in both an episodic, relapsing form and a progressive form where symptoms gradually worsen over time. Life expectancy is usually slightly shorter than normal with treatment focusing on delaying or preventing future episodes, recovering function after a bout of severe symptoms, and reducing the risk of disability. To learn more about this disease, click here.
The approval of OCREVUS is regarded as significant because of its ability to treat both of the most common forms of MS. The primary progressive form in particular generally has less treatment options and as a result is often more debilitating and challenging for those that are affected. The new drug has the potential to dramatically improve quality of life for that population, and the treatment should be of minimal burden to the patient since it only has to be administered every six months.
