New 6-year data for Ocrevus shows earlier treatment initiation nearly halves risk of needing walking aid in relapsing multiple sclerosis- Genentech/Roche

Genentech, a member of the Roche Group announced new analyses of Phase III OPERA I and OPERA II studies, as well as the open-label extensions, showing that Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) treatment reduced the risk of disease and disability progression in RMS and PPMS . These new analyses add additional evidence to the benefit-risk profile of Ocrevus, including the impact of MS on people’s daily lives. The data were selected for the 72nd American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Annual Meeting and will be made available online via virtual presentation in the coming weeks (in lieu of an in-person event) Effect of Ocrevus on disease progression measured by thalamic atrophy : Ocrevus progressively slowed thalamic atrophy (as measured by change in thalamic volume) in patients with RMS or PPMS. Results from the double-blind periods of the Phase III OPERA I, OPERA II and ORATORIO studies showed significantly less thalamic atrophy compared with interferon beta-1a and placebo, respectively (both p<0.001). the thalamus is a deep grey matter structure within the brain that acts as a relay and integrative center, playing a key role in alertness, motor control and cognition, as well as sensory processing. it is affected by ms-related damage and its atrophy could be a useful marker of therapeutic efficacy.with rapidly growing real-world experience and more than 150,000 patients treated globally, ocrevus has twice-yearly (six-monthly) dosing and is the first and only therapy approved for rms (including relapsing-remitting ms [rrms] and active, or relapsing, secondary progressive ms [spms], in addition to clinically isolated syndrome in the u.s.) and ppms. ocrevus is approved in 90 countries across north america, south america, the middle east, eastern europe, as well as in australia, switzerland and the european union.>