Low-cost treatment for multiple sclerosis shown to be as effective as standard therapy

A Norwegian-Swedish clinical trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine demonstrates that rituximab, a low-cost B-cell-depleting therapy, is as effective as ocrelizumab in newly diagnosed relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS).

The study, known as OVERLORD-MS, is the first randomized, double-blind, head-to-head trial comparing the two therapies in early MS.

Patients from across Norway and Sweden were followed for 30 months with MRI and clinical assessments. ...