Jeffrey Cohen, MD: Ofatumumab's Potential Role in MS Care

Author(s):

The neurologist at the Mellen Center for MS Treatment and Research at Cleveland Clinic spoke to the wide variety of clinical benefits observed with ofatumumab treatment and how it fits into the MS care landscape.

“This abstract underscores the broad range of clinical benefits of ofatumumab—it reduces relapses, it reduces disability worsening, it reduces MRI lesion activity and brain atrophy worsening.”

At the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) 2020 Annual Meeting, data from a pooled analysis of the phase 3 ASCLEPIOS I and II trials of ofatumumab was set to be presented by a group of study authors including Jeffrey Cohen, MD, neurologist, Mellen Center for Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Treatment and Research, Cleveland Clinic.

The data suggest that the Novartis agent significantly reduced the risk of 3- and 6-month confirmed disability progression (CDP) compared to teriflunomide in all groups assessed save for 1 subgroup of patients. For 3-month CDP, patients in Subset A experienced a risk reduction of 41.3% (hazard ratio [HR], 0.587; 95% CI, 0.407—0.848; P = .004) compared to those treated with teriflunomide. Those in Subset B and Subset C reported risk reductions of 48.4% (HR, 0.516; 95% CI, 0.365—0.729; P <.001) and 68.8% (HR, 0.312; 95% CI, 0.114—0.859; P = .024), respectively, in comparison. Results were similar for 6-month CDP.¹

NeurologyLive connected virtually with Cohen to discuss the anti-CD20 agent and how it might fit into the MS treatment landscape. He shared his insight into what these data may suggest about ofatumumab and how its delivery method might make it stand apart. Novartis expects to receive regulatory approval for ofatumumab in the US in June 2020 and in Europe by Q2 2021.²

For more AAN 2020 coverage, click here.

REFERENCES

1. Montalban X, Cohen J, Comi G, et al. Ofatumumab Reduces Disability Progression Independent of Relapse Activity in Patients with Relapsing Multiple Sclerosis. Neurology. 2020;94 (15 Suppl). 1845.

2. Novartis announces FDA and EMA filing acceptance of ofatumumab, a novel B-cell therapy for patients with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (RMS) [news release]. Basel, Switzerland: Novartis. February 24, 2020. Accessed April 27, 2020. globenewswire.com/news-release/2020/02/24/1988939/0/en/Novartis-announces-FDA-and-EMA-filing-acceptance-of-ofatumumab-a-novel-B-cell-therapy-for-patients-with-relapsing-forms-of-multiple-sclerosis-RMS.html.