VIDEO: Ocrelizumab effective as first-line treatment for MS

BOSTON — Initiating treatment with a high-efficacy therapeutic such as ocrelizumab as early as possible is effective for those with multiple sclerosis, according to a presenter at the American Academy of Neurology annual meeting.

“We know that treatment of multiple sclerosis requires highly effective treatments to have the best results,” Joao Jose Cerqueira, MD, PhD, said in his Healio video. “The problem is that we are still seeing many patients treated with lower efficacy drugs in the beginning, which leads to unsatisfactory results in the long run.”

Cerqueira and colleagues sought to assess safety and efficacy of ocrelizumab as a first-line treatment in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial and a subsequent open-label extension in a treatment-naïve subset of 757 individuals with early relapsing MS in the OPERA 1 and 2 trials over a 9-year follow-up period.

Researchers found that efficacy was higher for those patients who started on ocrelizumab from the beginning of the study compared with those who began with interferon and switched to ocrelizumab (50% vs. 27%).

Data additionally showed a measurable benefit of initiated ocrelizumab treatment with regard to confirmed disability progression, as those initially treated with interferons demonstrated a lag that did not improve once a switch to ocrelizumab was made.

No new safety signals or side effects were discovered over the follow-up interval.

“It’s important to note that, even after 9 years, we didn’t see any infectious rates or malignancy rates, which is very reassuring in this population,” Cerqueira said.