MabThera shows promise in multiple sclerosis
pharmafile | August 29, 2006 | News story | Research and Development |Â Â Â
The blockbuster non-Hodgkin's lymphoma treatment MabThera could offer a new treatment option for people with multiple sclerosis according to new trial results.
The drug is known as Rituxan in the US, where it is co-marketed by its discoverers Genentech and Biogen Idec.
The companies are now working together to further expand the drug's uses, which they believe could be effective in treating a number of autoimmune diseases.
Roche (Genentech's parent company) markets the drug in Europe as MabThera, and recently gained approval for its use in treating rheumatoid arthritis.
The drug is a therapeutic antibody that targets and selectively depletes CD20-positive B-cells, which are thought to play a key role in many autoimmune diseases, including MS.
Phase II trials of the drug in 104 patients with relapsing and remitting MS showed a significant reduction in the brain lesions commonly seen in patients.
"These initial results exceeded our expectations," said Hal Barron, Genentech's head of development and chief medical officer. "Showing a significant benefit at 24 weeks in this small Phase II trial supports our hypothesis that selective B-cell targeted therapy may play an important role in the treatment of MS."
Biogen Idec is an established player in the multiple sclerosis market, its Avonex product earning $1.54 billion in 2005, up 9%.
The company also recently re-launched its innovative new MS treatment Tysabri in Europe and the US. The product was withdrawn shortly after launch in 2005 because of rare but potentially lethal brain infections seen in some patients, but now the product been allowed back on the market with a strict safety monitoring system in place.
MabThera/Rituxan has not shown the same risk of potential infections, but a number of patients taking the drug for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma have experienced infusion reactions, which in some cases have been severe enough to be fatal.
Other serious or potentially life-threatening adverse reactions that have been reported with Rituxan include hepatitis B re-activation with fulminant hepatitis, other viral infections, hypersensitivity reactions, and cardiac arrhythmias, but provided these remain rare in the new studies, the drug could eventually help MS patients.
"Biogen Idec is committed to offering multiple options for people living with MS, a devastating disease," said Alfred Sandrock, senior vice president, neurology research and development at Biogen Idec.
"We are very encouraged by these data and look forward to learning more about the potential of Rituxan as a therapy to treat MS."
