The FDA officially approved Ocrelizumab (brand name: Ocrevus) for use in multiple sclerosis treatment on March 28, 2017. In this live MS Q&A, Dr. Tim Vollmer answers many interesting questions on this new treatment option for MS patients.
Interesting Note:
A study of rituximab in MS with strong results, published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2008, drove interest in B-cell depletion as a strategy to treat MS and has led to extensive off-label use of rituximab to treat primary and relapsing MS. Rituximab is a mouse protein, and is immunogenic in humans, and Genentech and its parent Roche decided to focus on the similar, but humanized mAb that they already had, Ocrelizumab, for MS instead.