Why Im excited!, page-18

When I last posted to Wheelchair Kamikaze, I profiled the experimental MS drug Ocrelizumab, which was developed by Swiss drug giant Roche (and their US subsidiary Genentech). In press releases put out by the company two weeks ago (click here), Ocrelizumab was touted as the first MS drug shown capable of putting the brakes on Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis (PPMS) – a subtype of the disease which until now has been largely untreatable – as well as it being highly effective in treating the more common Relapsing Remitting Multiple Sclerosis (RRMS). These results were even more noteworthy because Ocrelizumab is the first MS drug to specifically target immune system B cells, while other currently available MS drugs (Tysabri, Gilenya) were developed to target T cells, which until now were believed by many to be the primary culprits driving the MS disease process.

Though the initial Ocrelizumab press releases were scant on details, the news certainly appeared promising, though reservations were expressed by many MS researchers based on Ocrelizumab’s development history and its close similarity with another Roche product, Rituxan, a much older drug that had gone through early trials in RRMS (very successful) and PPMS (largely a failure, but with some hints of success) back in 2005-2008. Rituxan’s development as an MS treatment was halted by Roche because of what many believe to be strictly financial concerns. Reading my previous essay (click here) will provide much background on Ocrelizumab’s development and the issues surrounding the drug.

Roche presented the details of the Ocrelizumab RRMS and PPMS trials this past weekend at the ECTRIMS conference in Barcelona, Spain. The RRMS trials were named OPERA I and OPERA II, and the PPMS trial was named ORATORIO. The results of the OPERA I and OPERA II RRMS studies were indeed impressive. These studies compared Ocrelizumab to Rebif, an interferon drug long used to treat RRMS, and found that treatment with Ocrelizumab resulted in a 50% reduction of annualized relapse rates, a 40% reduction in progression, and an 80% reduction in enhancing lesions as shown on MRI when compared to patients taking Rebif (click here – login required, but sign-up process is easy and well worth it). Adverse events were found to be similar in both groups, which is encouraging as Rebif is considered one of the safer MS medications currently available.