Robert Fox, MD: Targeting Neurodegenerative Processes in Progressive MS

“There still is a great opportunity to find therapies for progressive MS.”

Ocrelizumab, approved in 2017 as the first drug for the treatment of primary progressive multiple sclerosis (MS), has already made a significant clinical impact for patients with progressive forms of the disease. However, there still remains a significant need for a drug that helps slow the advanced disability progression seen in some patients.

In an interview with NeurologyLive, Robert Fox, MD, a neurologist at the Mellen Center for Multiple Sclerosis at Cleveland Clinic, noted that ocrelizumab, while effective, only has a significant benefit in younger, less disabled, patients. For those patients with active inflammation and accumulated disability, Fox believes that focusing on treatments that not only modify the immune response, but target metabolic, mitochondrial, and neurodegenerative pathways may be more beneficial in this population.