What the trial was testing
The ASCLEPIOS II enrolled 955 patients with multiple sclerosis. The study was sponsored by Novartis and tracked outcomes across the full group of patients who matched the trial's eligibility profile.
It was a large trial designed to confirm whether the treatment works well enough for wider use. Trials at this stage are designed to produce evidence regulators and physicians can act on — not just observations to follow up later.
What the results showed
People on ofatumumab had 51% fewer relapses per year and 98% fewer new active brain lesions compared to those taking teriflunomide.
New England Journal of Medicine · 2020 · NCT02792231
These findings — that ofatumumab reduced the annualized relapse rate by more than half compared to the standard daily oral treatment — were published in the New England Journal of Medicine and represent the headline result of the study.
Researchers tracked outcomes across 955 patients enrolled in the trial. The result was consistent enough across the group that the team felt confident reporting it.
What this means for patients
For patients with multiple sclerosis, this result changes the calculus on what to ask their care team about. Whether it changes day-to-day care depends on factors like disease subtype, prior treatments, and where the patient is in their care journey.
What you can do now
Ofatumumab (Kesimpta) is now FDA-approved for relapsing MS and available as a monthly self-injection you do at home with a pen device. If you have relapsing MS — especially if a current drug is not controlling relapses well — ask your neurologist whether ofatumumab is a good fit for your situation.
Eligibility for the treatments mentioned above depends on specific test results and clinical history. Bring this summary, the trial name, and your most recent labs or pathology report to your next visit.
Open multiple sclerosis trials
The Swedish BioFINDER 2 Study
The Swedish BioFINDER 2 study is a new study that will launch in 2017 and extends the previous cohorts of BioFINDER 1 study (www.biofinder.se). BioFINDER 1 is used e.g. to characterize the role of beta-amyloid pathology in early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) using amyloid-PET (18F-Flutemetamol) and Aβ analysis in cerebrospinal fluid samples. The BioFINDER 1 study has resulted in more than 40 publications during the last three years, many in high impact journals, and some the of the results have already had important implications for the diagnostic work-up patients with AD in the clinical routine practice. The original BioFINDER 1 cohort started to include participants in 2008. Since then there has been a rapid development of biochemical and neuroimaging technologies which enable novel ways to the study biological processes involved in Alzheimer's disease in living people. There has also been a growing interest in the earliest stages of AD and other neurodegenerative diseases. With the advent of new tau-PET tracers there is now an opportunity to elucidate the role of tau pathology in the pathogenesis of AD and other tauopathies. The Swedish BioFINDER 2 study has been designed to complement the BioFINDER 1 study and to e.g. address issues regarding the role of tau pathology in different dementias and in preclinical stages of different dementia diseases. Further, the clinical assessments and MRI methods have been further optimized compared to BioFINDER 1. Detailed assessments of motor aspects and dual task performance, which is part of a sub-study named Motor-ACT: "Motor aspects and activities in relation to cognitive decline and brain pathologies, has been added to further optimize assessment of motor function.
Study to Evaluate Safety, Tolerability, and Pharmacokinetics of Amisodin in Healthy Adult Subjects With Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Researchers will evaluate the safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics (PK) of orally administered Amisodin in healthy adult subjects through a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 1 study consisting of two parts: single ascending dose (SAD) and multiple ascending dose (MAD). The food effect will be assessed in one cohort in Part1. Approximately 48 healthy, adult subjects are planned to be enrolled in total. Subjects will participate in only one part and one cohort.