Advances in MS Treatment, ECTRIMS 2021 Takeaways: Lawrence Steinman, MD

WATCH TIME: 3 minutes

“I'm always keeping my eye out for anything that looks promising for individuals who have the other form—the much rarer form of primary progressive multiple sclerosis—to see what else we can offer. There's a large distance to cover until we have treatments that are as effective as what I've been talking about with ublituximab.”

The 37th Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS), October 13-15, featured presentations on different developments, advances, and research efforts within the multiple sclerosis (MS) field. Lawrence Steinman, MD, Zimmermann Professor of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, and Pediatrics, Stanford University, presented expanded data from the ULTIMATE 1 and 2 trials (NCT03277261; NCT03277248) of ublituximab (TG Therapeutics) in patients with relapsing forms of MS. 

Steinman, who was the principal investigator for both trials, sat down with NeurologyLive to discuss findings, further commenting on the state of MS and what he was keeping an eye out for at ECTRIMS 2021. According to Steinman, B-cell–targeted therapies are at the top of his list for ongoing developments within the space, and he would like to see additional treatment options made available for patients with primary progressive MS, a rarer form of the disease. Speaking to this year’s ECTRIMS conference, a difficult aspect is start times, as attendees are tuning in virtually and located in different time zones, he said. 

For more coverage of ECTRIMS 2021, click here.

REFERENCE

Steinman L, Alvarez E, Fox E, et al. Ublitiximab is associated with significant improvement in the multiple sclerosis functional composite (MSFC): results from the phase 3 ULTIMATE 1 & 2 studies. Presented at ECTRIMS 2021; October 13-15; Virtual. Poster P932.