Safety, Efficacy of Ocrelizumab for MS in Clinical Practice Setting

A retrospective study found that ocrelizumab was safe, effective, and well tolerated in patients with primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS) and relapsing multiple sclerosis (RMS) in a clinical practice setting.

Clinical and MRI data for patients with PPMS and RMS at two health areas in southeastern Spain were collected. All patients received at least one infusion of ocrelizumab. Patients who were enrolled in an ocrelizumab trial or who had less than six months of follow-up were excluded.

Seventy patients were assessed, of whom 42 were women; 30% had PPMS, and 70% had RMS. Patients with PPMS were older than those with RMS (mean age at baseline, 47.1 years vs. 39.2 years). The median Expanded Disability Status Scale was 3.0 in the PPMS group and 2.5 in the RMS group. Median follow-up for the cohort was 13.6 months, during which time patients underwent a median three treatment cycles.

After starting ocrelizumab, the majority of patients did not experience clinical or MRI activity. More than half of patients had T1 Gd-enhancing lesions at baseline (57%), and at the first MRI control after four to six months, 69 of 70 of these patients no longer had T1 Gd-enhancing lesions (98.6%; P<0.001). Among patients with RMS and at least one year of follow-up, 94% achieved no evidence of disease activity. The most frequent adverse events were infusion-related reactions and infections, but none were serious.