Kesimpta® contains the active ingredient ofatumumab. It is a self-administered therapy used for the treatment of adults with the relapsing forms of MS to delay the progression of physical disability and reduce the frequency of relapse.
ACTRIMS 2023: TG aims to make Briumvi accessible to patients
Briumvi (ublituximab-xiiy) recently became the third anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a treatment for relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS).
Kesimpta (ofatumumab) is a disease modifying drug (DMD) for relapsing remitting MS. You take Kesimpta as an injection under the skin once a month. It reduces the number of relapses by about two thirds (70%).
OCREVUS is approved by the FDA to treat relapsing or primary progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). OCREVUS is given once every six months by an intravenous (IV) infusion.
Shingles vaccine (Zostavax®)
Zostavax, is a live-virus vaccine to prevent shingles. MS healthcare providers do not recommend live-virus vaccines for people with MS because these vaccines can lead to an increase in disease activity.
A: Inactivated vaccines are generally considered safe for people with MS including those taking a disease modifying therapy. Live attenuated vaccines are generally not recommended for a person with MS because their ability to cause disease is weakened but not totally inactivated.
Copaxone (glatiramer acetate) is a disease modifying drug (DMD) for relapsing remitting MS. You self-inject Copaxone under the skin either daily or three times a week to reduce the number and severity of relapses. It reduces the number of relapses by about one third (30%).
Research indicates they can have life threatening side effects. In contrast, multiple sclerosis medications with the safest profile are interferon-β preparations, such as Avonex, and glatiramer acetate (Copaxone).
On that day, the drug Ocrevus (OH-kreh-vus) became the first treatment ever approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for primary-progressive MS, the most aggressive form of the disease. Ocrevus, whose generic name is ocrelizumab, also is approved to treat patients who have relapsing-remitting MS.
Ocrevus and Tysabri account for over 85% of the patient share of multiple sclerosis medications. Ocrevus experienced a 5.6% year-over-year (YoY) growth, while all other top 10 medications experienced less than a 1.8% YoY change in variance.
AMPYRA® (dalfampridine) Extended Release Tablets, 10 mg, is the first and only brand prescription medicine indicated to help improve walking in adults with multiple sclerosis (MS). This was demonstrated by an increase in walking speed. These illustrations explain how AMPYRA works.
There is no cure for multiple sclerosis (MS), but there has been much progress in developing new drugs to treat it. Research is ongoing to develop new and better disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) for this disease of the central nervous system.
COVID-19 vaccines are safe for people with MS
None of the available vaccines contain live virus and the vaccines will not cause COVID-19. The vaccines have been studied in large numbers of people with MS and they did not trigger an MS relapse.
your genes – MS isn't directly inherited, but people who are related to someone with the condition are more likely to develop it; the chance of a sibling or child of someone with MS also developing it is estimated to be around 2 to 3 in 100.
Having MS does not automatically mean that you are immunocompromised. However, some disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) used to treat MS do alter your immune system, and certain groups of people with MS are more susceptible to having a severe case of COVID-19.
There are two drugs used for second line treatment (fingolimod and natalizumab) covered in another information sheet. The treatments do not cure MS, but can reduce the number of relapses.
However certain factors, including some disabilities that may result from your MS, have been shown to increase the risk of a severe case of COVID-19: Progressive MS. Older age. Male sex.
People with MS may be at higher risk of getting shingles because of reduced immune system function due to disease-modifying treatments. High-dose steroids, often used during relapses, may also increase the risk of a shingles outbreak. The Shingrix vaccine does not contain live virus and is safe for you to get.
The cause of multiple sclerosis is unknown. It's considered an immune mediated disease in which the body's immune system attacks its own tissues. In the case of MS , this immune system malfunction destroys the fatty substance that coats and protects nerve fibers in the brain and spinal cord (myelin).
You're more likely to catch a cold or flu virus if you have MS, especially if you take certain medicines that curb your immune system -- your body's defense against germs. And when you get sick with the flu, your MS raises the chances of health problems that may need treatment at your doctor's office or a hospital.
With multiple sclerosis our immune systems are already in overdrive. That very fact is what contributes to damage in our central nervous systems. When the ramped-up immune system attacks itself and causes lesions in the brain and spinal cord, we do not want to do anything to boost that immune system further.