Understanding Differences in B-Cell Depleting Medications for MS: Kristin Galetta, MD, MSEd

WATCH TIME: 2 minutes

"There probably are a lot of differences in terms of how immunosuppressed people may get and the timing of these medications. We’re still learning about that, but there may be implications to both."

Historically, most therapies approved for multiple sclerosis (MS) have targeted T-cells; however, there is increasing evidence about the pathologic role of B-cells in the disease. The B-cell involvement observed may be related to proinflammatory cytokine production, defective regulation and formulation of lymphoid structures in the central nervous system. There are several different approved B-cell therapies for MS and related disorders, including rituximab (Rituxan; Genentech), ocrelizumab (Ocrevus; Genentech), ofatumumab (Kesimpta; Novartis), and inebilizumab (Uplizna; Horizon Therapeutics), each of which has a slightly different mechanism.

NeurologyLive®recentlyhosted its Institutional Perspectives in Neurology meeting on February 9th, with a presentation from Kristina Galetta, MD, MSEd, on B-cell-depleting medications. Galetta focused her presentation on ocrelizumab and ofatumumab and highlighted the studies that led to their FDA approvals. In an interview with NeurologyLive®, Galetta, professor of neurology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, sat down to discuss the reason why she chose that topic, along with the distinct differences between the 2 medications.