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Happening now: bulletins from clinical trials of new MS therapies.

Article Excerpt
A mere 20 years ago, physicians had little besides sympathy to offer to someone just diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. The situation was not without hope: experimental drugs were in development. But no one knew when a reliable treatment would become available.

In the 1990s, clinical trials, enhanced by developments in imaging techniques such as MRI, proved the safety and efficacy of the first disease modifying drugs, interferon beta-1a (Avonex) and-1b (Betaseron) and glatiramer acetate (Copaxone). The FDA approved them for use by people with relapsing MS. For the first time in history, at least some people with MS were empowered with options for treatment.

The 2000s brought more options. Mitoxantrone (Novantrone) was approved for people with some worsening forms of MS in 2000, and Rebif, another form of interferon beta-1a, was approved in 2002. Last year natalizumab (Tysabri), the first monoclonal antibody available for the treatment of MS (see MABs, page 18) was re-released to market for relapsing forms of MS after an earlier set-back.

As the 2010s beckon, still more treatment possibilities are being rigorously tested around the world. They range from drugs that more precisely target immune system problems to treatments that may repair some of the damage MS has already done. More than 130 clinical trials are in progress, while other experimental drugs are in earlier stages of development.

What follows are just a few of the treatments targeting the MS disease process in the pipeline. Others being tested include treatments for many MS symptoms, as well as rehabilitation techniques to help people with MS lead fuller lives.

Combinations of proven treatments

If one MS drug can reduce disease activity by 30%, will two drugs that offer 30% reduction provide more benefit if taken together? MS drug combo trials now in progress include:

Avonex and Copaxone: Dr. Fred Lublin at Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York, in collaboration with other centers in North America, launched a placebo-controlled trial--known as CombiRx--to study the use of Avonex and Copaxone in 1,000 people with relapsing MS. The trial is being funded by the National Institutes of Health and results are expected in 2009.

Avonex and methotrexate vs. Avonex and methylprednisolone vs. Avonex and both: Biogen Idec, which makes Avonex, is sponsoring this trial involving 313 people with relapsing-remitting MS whose disease has not responded fully to Avonex alone. Researchers at the Cleveland Clinic, in collaboration with...

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