A breakthrough drug for multiple sclerosis dramatically slows the progression of the disease, it was announced last night.
The medication is the first ever treatment for 10,000 British people with a certain form of MS – and for another 85,000 patients it offers a far more effective alternative to existing drugs.
Described as a ‘game changer’ by scientists, ocrelizumab is the first drug shown to slow the progression of the disease for the 10 per cent of MS patients with a form known as ‘primary progressive’.
And for those with another form called relapsing MS – which affects around 85 per cent of patients – it is nearly 50 per cent more effective than existing treatments.
MS is the most common disabling neurological condition, with 50 people in Britain diagnosed each week, usually in their 20s or 30s,
The condition causes loss of mobility, sight problems, tiredness and excruciating pain.
It either becomes progressively worse with age or strikes in brutal, periodic relapses – with many people left relying on wheelchairs.
The condition is caused when the body’s immune system malfunctions, and instead of warding off diseases turns instead to attack the body’s own nerves.
Certain immune cells, called B-cells, attack myelin, the protective sheath surrounding nerve fibres.The ocrelizumab treatment slows down this process by stopping the B-cells from attacking the myelin.
The drug, taken as an intravenous drip every six months, was tested on 2,300 patients worldwide, 48 of whom were in Britain.
Data showed that those with primary progressive MS saw the progress of their disability slowed by 24 per cent over 12 weeks, compared with patients who took a placebo.
Patients with relapsing MS saw a 47 per cent reduction in relapse rate, when compared to an older product called Rebif. The progression of their disability also slowed by 40 per cent.
The results from the trial were presented last night at the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis conference in Barcelona. Professor Gavin Giovannoni of Barts Hospital in London, commenting on the results, said the drug was ‘a game changer’. ‘These data demonstrate that B-cell targeting can significantly modify the disease,’ he said.
Drugs giant Roche, which makes the treatment, plans to submit a licensing application to the European Medicines Agency next year.
If it is approved as safe, and the UK health service then agrees to fund it, patients could get it on the NHS as soon as 2017.
Charities last night welcomed the announcement as a ‘really significant breakthrough’. Nick Rijke, of the MS Society said: ‘These trial results will provide a great deal of hope for people with primary progressive MS, who currently don’t have any treatments available that can slow down their condition.’
Dr Klaus Schmierer, from Queen Mary University of London, said: ‘This is great news for everybody affected by MS. People with primary progressive MS and clinicians alike have been eagerly waiting for an effective treatment to slow the path of relentless deterioration.’
‘IT’S AMAZING – I’VE SO MUCH ENERGY’
Multiple sclerosis sufferer Debbie Martin leads a hectic lifestyle with a demanding job and four boisterous dogs.
She says that sheer determination is vital for getting her through – ‘mind over matter’ is her mantra.
But she says she couldn’t lead the life she does today without a breakthrough drug she has taken for the last year at Exeter Hospital, as part of a clinical trial.
‘Ocrelizumab is amazing,’ she said last night. ‘It means I can do what I want to do – and I have the energy to do it.’ Today 50-year-old Mrs Martin, who has had MS for 13 years, will drive four miles to a nursing home for elderly people.
There she will work a 13-hour shift as a senior care assistant, before returning to the Devon home she shares with her husband Adrian and walking the dogs.
‘Four years ago I had a relapse which lasted six months,’ she said. ‘It hit me hard and I was on crutches for a while.
‘I thought for at one stage it was going to get the better of me. The drug is a big help – hopefully it will now be made widely available, it could help so many.’
© Daily Mail