Ocrelizumab and rituximab for multiple sclerosis {MS]

Within medpagetoday on ocrelizumab :



It remains to be seen whether ocrelizumab beats out rituximab at slowing disease activity in MS, although this is a trial that isn't likely to be done given that Roche/Genentech manufacture both products.

The companies are no strangers to having two competing drugs for a single condition, with one offered at a significantly cheaper price. Roche/Genentech manufacture both bevacizumab (Avastin) and ranibizumab (Lucentis) for a host of ophthalmic conditions, and physicians have long preferred the less costly bevacizumab, especially after studies largely showed equal efficacy and safety profiles between the two.

Whether such a situation will arise with rituximab-ocrelizumab remains speculative, but biosimilars for rituximab are expected to be introduced eventually, at which point market pressures may force Roche/Genentech to drop the price for rituximab.



from post
Novel Drug Bests Interferon at Halting MS Activity
Nearly half of patients on ocrelizumab achieved no evidence of disease activity (NEDA)

from a report by Anthony Traboulsee of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, reported at the American Academy of Neurology meeting in Vancouver in April 2016.