A new drug recently approved by Health Canada called Tecfidera appears to be to helping those living with the most common form of multiple sclerosis.
The drug is intended to help reduce relapses, reduce disease activity and delay the progression of the disease in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis.
Dr. Marcelo Kremenchutzky led the clinical trials for the drug in London and is the director of the Multiple Sclerosis Clinic.
He says “This medication has been proven to be effective in terms of significant reduction of the frequency and severity of relapses people with MS may have.”
And patients involved with the study of the drug, like Megan Boug, say it does provide relief from symptoms.
Diagnosed 14 years ago, Boug says “I didn’t have as many relapses as I might have had before. I did get a little bit of stamina back…so going on the Tecfidera, it was an improvement in my overall health and it has just remained that way. I’ve been able to function more normally.”
Kremenchutzky says other patients also reported positive results, “People had significantly less relapses, less serious relapses, less lesions that appear on MRI scans.”
The drug uses a chemical originally designed to treat psoriasis, and is believed to prevent damage to the brain and spinal cord through its effect on immune cells and possible anti-oxidant properties.
While it’s not a cure, Kremenchutzky says “It is a significant advance in the field of treating our patients.”
And there is an added benefit for patients, Boug says, because it is taken as a pill.
“The fact that it’s oral is such an improvement. I don’t mind taking six pills a day. I would rather do that than stick a needle in me once a week.”
Possible side effects of the drug include gastro-intestinal problems and skin flushes, but they are described as minor.
The studies of Tecfidera are the largest Phase III trials done on MS and involved more than 2,600 patients, according to manufacturer Biogen Idec Canada.
