Category Archives: MS Treatment

THE WOODLANDS, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Opexa Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: OPXA), a biotechnology company developing Tcelna (imilecleucel-T), a novel T-cell immunotherapy for the treatment of Multiple Sclerosis (MS), today reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2014 and provided an overview of the Companys recent corporate developments. Recent highlights include: Reaching our clinical trial enrollment target of 180 patients in the Phase IIb Abili-T trial in Secondary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis represents an important milestone in the development of our personalized immunotherapy for this unmet medical need, said Neil K. Warma, Opexas President and Chief Executive Officer. MS patients are in dire need of a product to treat the progressive form of the disease. With so few treatment options for Secondary Progressive MS patients, we remain committed in our efforts to develop Tcelna for this patient group. During the first quarter of 2014, Hans-Peter Hartung and Tim Barabe joined Opexas Board of Directors. They bring with them deep experience in the areas of clinical development, neurology, finance and operations. As of March 31, 2014, Opexas cash and cash equivalents totaled approximately $19.7 million and our monthly burn rate for the three months ending March 2014 was approximately $1.3 million. Based on … Continue reading →

BOSTON The Senate on Tuesday unanimously adopted a bill to require insurers to cover drug and alcohol treatment without prior approval for admissions, a move expected to greatly increase access to treatment and that state Sen. Stephen M. Brewer predicted "will make a quantum leap forward" in treating opiate addiction. The legislation, which now goes to the House for consideration, would prohibit MassHealth, the state's Medicaid program, as well as commercial health insurance companies from requiring prior approval for admission to clinical detox and other in-patient and out-patient drug addiction and substance abuse treatment programs. The bill also requires that those services be covered by health insurance companies and sets up a system to certify professionals to qualify for providing treatment that is reimbursable by insurers. Backers of the bill said the program will result in as many as 1,000 licensed workers to provide reimbursable drug-addiction treatment. While no estimates of the state health insurance costs or premiums charged by commercial insurance companies was offered during the floor debate, Mr. Brewer, D-Barre, said he is convinced the expense will be less than not addressing a rising epidemic of opioid addictions. He said he will include additional funds to cover estimated … Continue reading →

TEUTOPOLIS Run in a dress? Sure, if it's for the Multiple Sclerosis Society. It happens Saturday, May 10, the Run in a Dress for MS 5k run/walk and one mile family fun walk, starting and finishing on the Teutopolis Junior High School track. Organized by the Habing family last year to bring awareness to multiple sclerosis and to raise money to fight the disease, the event exceeded expectations, attracting more than 450 participants and raising more than $22,000. We think we can make this event bigger and have more of an impact for the multiple sclerosis community by getting the word out to Central Illinois, said Philip Habing, the event manager. The Habing family includes Philip Habing's parents, Lawrence and Rita, and his sisters, Maria, Monica, Elisa, Renee and Anna. We had already known a few people with MS in the area, Philip Habing explains. When one of my sisters was diagnosed in 2012, we began to research MS, including alternative treatment options and the prescription assistance programs available. The National MS Society provided the information and direction we needed. We also found out about fundraising assistance programs by different groups, he said. So our family and friends began planning … Continue reading →

Biogen (NASDAQ: BIIB) remains a market leader in treating multiple sclerosis, an autoimmune disease that affects more than 1.1 million people in the U.S. and Europe. The company has launched a host of widely successful MS therapies over the past decade, including blockbuster Avonex and Tysabri. However, competition in the form of oral drugs from Novartis (NYSE: NVS) and Sanofi (NYSE: SNY) have cut into Avonex's market share. Given that Biogen has responded to that competitive threat with its own oral drug, Tecfidera, let's take a closer look at the company's first-quarter results. BIIB data by YCharts A big, global market According to Express Scripts, spending on MS medication is going to grow roughly 12% a year through 2016. That's solid growth given that MS is unfortunately already the second most costly specialty drug category, costing insurers more than $46 per member per year in 2013. The market share leader in MS treatment is Teva's (NYSE: TEVA) Copaxone, an injectible therapy that loses patent protection next month. Teva has been battling to keep generic biosimilars from Mylan and Momenta at bay. The Supreme Court recently decided it would hear Teva's case, which may insulate it from the generic threat a … Continue reading →

The MP for Newcastle North has signed up to the MS Society's campaign Catherine McKinnell, MP for Newcastle North, is backing the MS Societys Treat Me Right campaign, which is calling for fair and equal access to the right treatment at the right time for people with multiple sclerosis (MS). The MP, who is a member and former Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on MS, was honoured this week to be invited to be the president of the Newcastle and Gateshead branch of the MS Society. She signed up to the MS Societys campaign at an event in Parliament to mark MS Week, taking place this month. As part of the campaign, the MS Society is warning that thousands of people with MS could be left behind as new NHS medicines emerge that are out of reach for many with the condition. The charity estimates a quarter of all people with MS in the UK around 27,000 people might begin taking a licensed disease modifying drug (DMD) if care was consistent and all people with MS had access to appropriate information and support to make decisions about their care. There are now nine MS drugs approved for use on … Continue reading →

A pregnancy hormone could prove a simple way to treat multiple sclerosis, after showing promise in a trial of 158 women with MS. MS is a neurological condition that results from damage to the brain and nerves inflicted by the body's own immune system. It affects 2.3 million people worldwide. Symptoms include extreme tiredness, blurred vision, muscle weakness and problems with balance and movement. The symptoms of women with MS tend to ease when they are pregnant, but worsen again after giving birth. This could be because of a hormone called oestriol, which is only produced in significant amounts during pregnancy. The hormone is thought to help suppress the mother's immune system to prevent it attacking the fetus. Rhonda Voskuhl of the University of California, Los Angeles, and her colleagues wondered whether giving oestriol to people with MS who aren't pregnant might also help with symptoms. They gave 8 milligrams of oestriol daily to 86 women with MS, along with their medication, Copaxone (glatiramer acetate). The women had the most common form of MS, called relapsing-remitting MS, which results in periodic flare-ups of symptoms followed by recovery. After one year, they had 47 per cent fewer relapses than a control … Continue reading →

Denver, Colorado (PRWEB) April 30, 2014 Dr. Gary M. Levin claims that he actually knows the secret to curing multiple sclerosis with a natural treatment. Levin claims to have discovered a remarkable MS cure program, the new review indicates. Levin also reveals that multiple sclerosis is one of the most debilitating conditions patients can suffer from. According to the American surgeon, the Natural Multiple Sclerosis Treatment review shows, this new treatment will make it possible for sufferers to enjoy once again life. The author of the new program indicates that he can perfectly understand sufferers, as he has been treating patients suffering from MS for no less than 30 years. To find out more about Dr Gary M. Levin and his latest MS natural treatment read the full review at: http://www.dailygossip.org/natural-multiple-sclerosis-treatment-review-the-remarkable-ms-cure-7563. In the Natural Multiple Sclerosis Treatment review sufferers will discover that Gary M. Levin is a retired MD and surgeon. After years of dealing with patients suffering from this condition, Levin reached the conclusion that natural remedies are the only effective answer for the disease. The step by step treatment system developed by Levin, the Natural Multiple Sclerosis Treatment review indicates, has helped many patients leave years of suffering … Continue reading →

Contact Information Available for logged-in reporters only Newswise A study conducted by Dr. Rhonda Voskuhl, a UCLA neurologist, shows that combining estriol, a female hormone, with Copaxone, a medication currently used to treat multiple sclerosis, reduced the relapse rate of MS by nearly 50 percent with only one year of treatment. Voskuhl presented the results of the preliminary Phase II clinical trial today at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology in Philadelphia. The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial involved 158 women with relapsing-remitting MS. At 16 sites across the U.S., one group of women was treated with Copaxone, a commonly prescribed, standard-of-care drug for MS, and an 8 milligram estriol pill each day; others received Copaxone and a daily placebo pill. After 12 months of treatment, the relapse rate for the Copaxone-plus-estriol group was 47 percent lower than that of the group that took Copaxone plus a placebo. The test also showed that women who were taking Copaxone plus estriol scored higher on cognitive tests after one year than did women who were taking Copaxone and the placebo. Voskuhl found that, after two years, patients taking Copaxone and the placebo began to show improvement, but those results took … Continue reading →

This innovative collaboration aligns the research efforts of both organizations around projects which are designed to develop a deep understanding of the pathogenesis and progression of MS and to address the unmet medical needs in MS, particularly progressive forms of the disease. Initially the collaboration will focus on projects that explore strategies to address neurodegeneration, a hallmark of progressive MS, and novel technologies to better understand the pathology of the disease. The collaboration will be led by a joint steering committee comprised of Genzyme and Cleveland Clinic researchers and span a minimum of 5 years. As leaders in MS we want to advance and build a sustainable pipeline of novel therapeutic approaches, and our collaboration with Cleveland Clinic, along with our internal R&D efforts, reinforce Genzymes long-term commitment to the MS community, said David Meeker, President and CEO, Genzyme. We are excited to work collaboratively with a premier research and health care institution that has made many important contributions to better understanding this complex and devastating disease. Cleveland Clinics Mellen Center for Multiple Sclerosis has one of the largest and most comprehensive programs for MS care and research worldwide, managing more than 20,000 patient visits everyyear. The Center has a … Continue reading →

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 29-Apr-2014 Contact: Barbara McMakin nindspressteam@ninds.nih.gov 301-496-5751 NIH/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Combining the estrogen hormone estriol with Copaxone, a drug indicated for the treatment of patients with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), may improve symptoms in patients with the disorder, according to preliminary results from a clinical study of 158 patients with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). The findings were presented today by Rhonda Voskuhl, M.D., from the University of California, Los Angeles, at the American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting in Philadelphia. The study was funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), part of the National Institutes of Health; and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. "While these results are encouraging, the results of this Phase II study should be considered preliminary as a larger study would be needed to know whether benefits outweigh the risks for persons affected by MS. At present, we cannot recommend estrogen as part of standard therapy for MS. We encourage patients to talk with their doctors before making any changes to their treatment plans," said Walter Koroshetz, M.D., deputy director of NINDS. MS is an autoimmune disorder in which immune cells break down myelin, … Continue reading →