Category Archives: MS Treatment

Opexa Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: OPXA), a biotechnology company developing Tcelna, a novel T-cell immunotherapy for the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS), today announced that Neil K. Warma, President and Chief Executive Officer, will present at the 16th Annual BIO CEO & Investor Conference on Monday, February 10, 2014, at 11:30 a.m. EST in the Conrad Room. The conference will be held at the Waldorf=Astoria Hotel in New York, NY. A live webcast of the company presentation can be accessed here, or via the Investor Relations section of the Companys website at http://www.opexatherapeutics.com. An archive of the webcast will be available on the Company's website until May 11, 2014. About Opexa Opexas mission is to lead the field of Precision Immunotherapy by aligning the interests of patients, employees and shareholders. The Companys leading therapy candidate, Tcelna, is a personalized T-cell immunotherapy that is in a Phase IIb clinical development program (the Abili-T trial) for the treatment of SPMS. Tcelna is derived from T-cells isolated from a patients peripheral blood, expanded ex vivo, and reintroduced into the patient via subcutaneous injections. This process triggers a potent immune response against specific subsets of autoreactive T-cells known to attack myelin. About Multiple Sclerosis (MS) … Continue reading →

Health JoNel Aleccia NBC News 18 hours ago CDC / CDC Toxins produced by Clostridium perfringens, a common cause of foodborne illness, could be a potential trigger for multiple sclerosis, scientists say. Add another clue to the mystery of multiple sclerosis: Scientists say a poison produced by common foodborne germs could be a trigger for the debilitating autoimmune disorder that affects 400,000 Americans. Researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York have discovered that a toxin made by the bacterium Clostridium perfringens responsible for a million cases of food poisoning in the U.S. each year appears to attack the cells associated with MS. What weve shown is the toxins target the cells that are targeted in MS, said Jennifer Linden, a Weill Cornell researcher whos presenting findings Tuesday at a meeting of the American Society for Microbiology. Her research also showed that about 13 percent of a small sample of food products harbored C. perfringens bacteria, and nearly 3 percent were positive for the toxin linked to MS. Its too early to suggest that MS is caused by food poisoning, but it does raise the possibility that the C. perfringens bacteria could be involved in activating the disease, said … Continue reading →

The European Court of Human Rights has ruled in favour of Irish woman Louise OKeeffe in her landmark case against the Irish State, ruling that the Irish state failed to meet its obligation to protect Ms OKeeffe from the sexual abuse she suffered while a pupil in an Irish national school. Suzanne Lynch, Barry Roche Irish woman Louise OKeeffe, who today won a landmark case against the Irish State, said the ruling meant the Department of Education must protect children in schools. The European Court of Human Rights ruled this morning that the State had failed to meet its obligation to protect Ms OKeeffe from the sexual abuse she suffered while a pupil in an Irish national school. Ms O Keeffe had brought her case to the European Court after the Irish Supreme court ruled in 2009 that the State was not legally liable for the abuse suffered by Ms OKeeffe by her school principal while a nine-year old girl at Dunderrow National School. Speaking from Cork after the ruling Ms OKeeffe said: The message I have today for the Department of Education on foot of this ruling is that you must protect children in the schools, its a right … Continue reading →

The European Court of Human Rights has ruled in favour of Irish woman Louise OKeeffe in her landmark case against the Irish State, ruling that the Irish state failed to meet its obligation to protect Ms OKeeffe from the sexual abuse she suffered while a pupil in an Irish national school. Suzanne Lynch, Barry Roche Irish woman Louise OKeeffe, who today won a landmark case against the Irish State, said the ruling meant the Department of Education must protect children in schools. The European Court of Human Rights ruled this morning that the State had failed to meet its obligation to protect Ms OKeeffe from the sexual abuse she suffered while a pupil in an Irish national school. Ms O Keeffe had brought her case to the European Court after the Irish Supreme court ruled in 2009 that the State was not legally liable for the abuse suffered by Ms OKeeffe by her school principal while a nine-year old girl at Dunderrow National School. Speaking from Cork after the ruling Ms OKeeffe said: The message I have today for the Department of Education on foot of this ruling is that you must protect children in the schools, its a right … Continue reading →

Nunnelly, TN (PRWEB) January 28, 2014 The staff at The Ranch treatment center in Tennessee recently completed a two-day cultural sensitivity training that will enhance its ability to meet the needs of its orthodox Jewish clients. The training was led by Deborah Fox, LCSW, founder and executive director of Magen Yeladim International: Child Safety Institute, and the former director of the Aleinu program of Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles. For two days, Ms. Fox met with the entire team at The Ranch, from the housekeeping and maintenance staff to the residential assistants and clinicians, to educate them about the beliefs, customs and needs of orthodox Jewish clients. Some of the issues Ms. Fox addressed during the training include helping clients stay kosher and observe the Sabbath during treatment. This training was an incredible effort by The Ranch to understand and work with the orthodox Jewish population, said Ms. Fox. From intake through discharge, the entire team has a greater understanding of the Jewish culture and the role each staff member plays in meeting the needs of orthodox Jewish clients who struggle with addictions and emotional health challenges. We are very fortunate to have had Debbie Fox share her knowledge … Continue reading →

City firm switches pills for injections for MS sufferers 6:30am Monday 27th January 2014 in News By Pete Hughes, Reporter. Call me on 01865 425431 AN OXFORD drug company has developed the first pill to treat Multiple Sclerosis that can be prescribed to the majority of sufferers. Until now people with the most common form of MS, relapsing and remitting (RRMS), have only been able to medicate with injections. But on Wednesday Oxford firm Genzyme, based at the Oxford Business Park in Cowley, had its new pill Aubagio approved by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE). Jenna Mahoney, a spokesman for the MS Society, said: This is excellent news for people with MS. There are a number of treatments for this sort of MS but they are all injectable, and this offers people an alternative for the first time. She said that in a recent MS Society survey, a huge proportion of sufferers said they would prefer to take a tablet to an injection. Aubagio, the trade name for chemical teriflunomide, slows down the degenerative effects of the disease. In Multiple Sclerosis, the immune system starts attacking the coating around the bodys nerve cells, which stops them from working. … Continue reading →

Active Biotech Remain Committed to the Development of NERVENTRA (laquinimod) for Multiple Sclerosis Following the Negative Opinion from the EMA's CHMP JERUSALEM, Israel & LUND, Sweden, January 24, 2014 - Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE: TEVA) and Active Biotech (NASDAQ OMX NORDIC: ACTI) announced today that both companies remain committed to the NERVENTRA (laquinimod) clinical development program for multiple sclerosis (MS) following the announcement of a negative opinion for the treatment of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) by the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA). The CHMP has concluded that the risk-benefit profile of NERVENTRA is not favorable at this time. In accordance with European regulations, Teva and Active Biotech intend to request a re-examination of the CHMP opinion. Teva and Active Biotech are focusing on evaluating the CHMP's review and will continue to liaise closely with the EMA in working to make NERVENTRA available as a new treatment option for patients with RRMS in Europe. ABOUT NERVENTRA NERVENTRA is a once-daily oral, investigational, CNS-active immunomodulator with a novel mechanism of action being developed for the treatment of relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) and progressive MS (PMS). In extensive non-clinical and clinical studies NERVENTRA has … Continue reading →

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (TEVA) failed to win backing from the European Union drug regulator for a new pill to treat multiple sclerosis, hurting the companys effort to introduce a successor to its best-selling injection Copaxone. The drug, laquinimod, shouldnt be granted marketing authorization in the 28-nation EU, the European Medicines Agencys Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use said in a statement today. The agency was concerned that animal studies showed a higher occurrence of cancers and possible risk to unborn babies, the London-based agency said. The product would have competed against oral medicines from Biogen Idec Inc. (BIIB), Novartis AG (NOVN) and Sanofi. (SAN) Laquinimod showed disappointing results in clinical trials in 2011. After talks with the Food and Drug Administration, Teva decided not to seek U.S. approval without another trial, the Petach Tikva, Israel-based company said that year. Analysts have no sales estimates for the drug, which has the brand name Nerventra, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Active Biotech AB (ACTI) is Tevas partner on the drug. Teva and Active Biotech are focusing on evaluating the CHMPs review and will continue to liaise closely with the EMA in working to make Nerventra available as a new … Continue reading →

JERUSALEM & LUND, Sweden--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE:TEVA) and Active Biotech (NASDAQ OMX NORDIC: ACTI) announced today that both companies remain committed to the NERVENTRA (laquinimod) clinical development program for multiple sclerosis (MS) following the announcement of a negative opinion for the treatment of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) by the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA). The CHMP has concluded that the risk-benefit profile of NERVENTRA is not favorable at this time. In accordance with European regulations, Teva and Active Biotech intend to request a re-examination of the CHMP opinion. Teva and Active Biotech are focusing on evaluating the CHMPs review and will continue to liaise closely with the EMA in working to make NERVENTRA available as a new treatment option for patients with RRMS in Europe. ABOUT NERVENTRA NERVENTRA is a once-daily oral, investigational, CNS-active immunomodulator with a novel mechanism of action being developed for the treatment of relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) and progressive MS (PMS). In extensive non-clinical and clinical studies NERVENTRA has demonstrated both anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective properties and effects that have been shown to provide clinically meaningful results. The global Phase III clinical development program evaluating NERVENTRA in … Continue reading →

Sanofis multiple sclerosis drug Aubagio won final approval from the U.K.s health-cost agency, allowing access to a market in which it will compete with Novartis AGs (NOVN) Gilenya. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, or NICE, recommended Aubagio, also known as teriflunomide, as a treatment option for adults with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, the most common form of the disease, it said in a statement today. The decision confirms a preliminary ruling made last month in which NICE recommended the drug after Paris-based Sanofi agreed to a price cut. The drug is the second oral MS treatment to win NICEs backing in the U.K., after Basel, Switzerland-based Novartiss Gilenya was approved in April 2012. Aubagio is the only oral MS drug to demonstrate an ability to slow the progression of disability in two trials, William Sibold, the head of MS at Sanofis (SAN) Genzyme unit, said in a telephone interview. That consistent efficacy is something that resonates very well with the community, Sibold said. Aubagio has blockbuster potential, Sibold said, without providing a specific sales forecast. The drug may reach sales of 647 million euros ($876 million) in 2018, according to the average of eight analyst estimates compiled by … Continue reading →