Four years of continuous treatment benefits were sustained by Ocrevus for relapsing multiple sclerosis patients . Genentech/Roche.

Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, announced that new Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) data were presented at the 70th American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Annual Meeting from April 21-27 in Los Angeles, California. The data showcase the efficacy of Ocrevus in relapsing multiple sclerosis (RMS) through several measures of underlying disease activity and disability progression, including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), cognitive function, and spinal fluid biomarkers of inflammation and neurodegeneration. New safety data remain consistent with Ocrevus' favorable benefit-risk profile in both relapsing and primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS). After four years of continuous treatment, the benefits of Ocrevus in reducing underlying disease activity in RMS were sustained as shown in a platform presentation measuring brain MRI activity through the randomized and open-label extension (OLE) periods of the Phase III studies.

Patients who stayed on Ocrevus maintained low numbers of T1 gadolinium-enhancing (T1Gd+) lesions (0.017 pre-OLE to 0.17 T1Gd+ lesions per scan at year four [year two of the OLE phase]) and new/enlarging T2 (N/ET2) lesions [0.052 pre-OLE to 0.080 N/ET2 lesions per scan] through year two of the OLE phase. Patients who switched from Rebif (interferon beta-1a) to Ocrevus at the start of the OLE period had a near-complete silencing of T1Gd+ lesions per scan at one and two years (0.476 pre-OLE to 0.007 and 0.004 T1Gd+ lesions per scan), as well as an 85 and 97 percent decrease in N/ET2 lesions per scan at years one and two, respectively (2.159 pre-OLE to 0.333 and 0.063 N/ET2 lesions per scan).

A second four-year analysis presented in a poster at AAN showed people who stayed on Ocrevus through year two of the OLE period sustained low annualized relapse rates (ARR) and 24-week confirmed disability progression (CDP24). Those who switched from interferon beta-1a to Ocrevus experienced a significant decline in ARR by year one that was maintained through year two. New cognitive performance data, also shared in a platform presentation, showed Ocrevus reduced the risk of 12- and 24-week confirmed cognitive decline (as defined by confirmed worsening on the Symbol Digit Modalities Test [SDMT] of at least four points) by 38 and 39 percent during the 96-week period in people with RMS, compared to interferon beta-1a. Cognitive impairment occurs in up to 65 percent of people with multiple sclerosis.

In a separate presentation of pooled OPERA I and OPERA II data people with RMS at increased risk of progressive disease (as determined by baseline Expanded Disability Status Scale [EDSS] and pyramidal Kurtzke Functional Systems scores of at least four and two points, respectively) and treated with Ocrevus experienced a significant improvement in cognitive function compared with those taking interferon beta-1a through 96 weeks (measured as percent achieving greater than 4 point improvement in SDMT; 62.2% vs. 46.5%; p=0.009).

Also in a platform presentation, Ocrevus was shown at 12 and 24 weeks to reduce the presence of nerve damage and inflammation biomarkers in spinal fluid (cerebrospinal fluid or CSF), including median concentration of neurofilament light chain (Nf-L) and median number of CD19+ B cells (week 12: -86%, week 24: -82%), respectively. This interim analysis in RMS patients from the new Phase III Ocrelizumab Biomarker Outcome Evaluation (OBOE) study adds to the field�s body of evidence around key multiple sclerosis biomarkers, which may be used in future research to more rapidly measure new disease activity and how patients are responding to different therapies..