The past year in MS: positive studies of ocrelizumab (Ocrevus), high-efficacy therapies and other key news, each summarised in the MedShorts 360 format with its date and source.
NeurologyCanada joins the US and EU in approving ocrelizumab for paediatric relapsing-remitting MS, based on OPERETTA 2.
NeurologyIn 296 patients who moved to the 10-minute subcutaneous injection, injection-site reactions were rare and mild, and no new safety signals emerged.
NeurologyFollowing a positive CHMP opinion in September, Europe becomes the second major region to approve ocrelizumab for children and adolescents with relapsing MS.
NeurologyNew MSToronto2026 data show 90% of patients aged 10 to 17 had no relapse over two years of ocrelizumab treatment.
NeurologyPre-existing immunity to common childhood vaccines was preserved in 81% to 100% of paediatric patients treated with ocrelizumab.
NeurologyImmune profiling in OPERETTA 2 showed ocrelizumab selectively depleted CD20+ B cells, with little or no effect on other immune cells.
NeurologyIn CONSONANCE, 53% of patients over 55 had no disability progression at two years, almost the same as 55% of younger participants.
NeurologyPooled phase 3 imaging showed up to 30% less slowly expanding lesion volume and 62% fewer new paramagnetic rim lesions, with 75% of RMS patients reaching NEDA-3.
NeurologyTwo of three patients given the allogeneic CD19/BCMA CAR-T CTA313 improved by half an EDSS point at three months, with only grade 1 cytokine release.
NeurologyIn 1,656 patients followed for up to a decade, continuous ocrelizumab kept 82% free of 48-week confirmed disability progression and lowered the risk of needing a walking aid compared with a two-year delayed start.
NeurologyAmong 12,997 UTI and 651 urosepsis reports, ocrelizumab had the strongest signal, with natalizumab and alemtuzumab also over-reported.
NeurologyIn the ACTION-MS trial, 63.3% of people receiving cognitive behavioural therapy improved meaningfully by week 8, versus 33.3% with supportive listening.
NeurologyAmong 1,503 people with MS, 68.2% reported pain; the 17.7% with neuropathic pain had greater disability and lower quality of life than those with musculoskeletal pain.
NeurologyNew EXPAND analyses show a 55% reduction in active SPMS but a non-significant 22% in non-active disease.
NeurologyIn more than 350 patients followed for up to 13 years, the annualised relapse rate was 0.14 and enhancing lesions fell from 2.62 to 0.26.
NeurologyAmong 562 adults switching from fingolimod or fumarates, 90.9% had no MRI disease activity on ofatumumab.
NeurologyULTIMATE I/II data in treatment-naive patients showed an annualised relapse rate of 0.081 with ublituximab versus 0.188 with teriflunomide over 96 weeks.
NeurologyAbelZeta's C-CAR168 will be tested in about 95 patients with active or non-active progressive MS that has not responded to standard therapy.
NeurologyAcross MSBase, French and Danish registries, ocrelizumab gave lower relapse rates than all three comparators, especially in patients with activity on prior therapy.
NeurologyIn 3,316 Danish patients, starting high-efficacy DMTs cut relapse-associated worsening by 75% compared with escalation, while four-year PIRA-free rates were similar.
NeurologyCDSCO's Subject Expert Committee recommended import and marketing of the 920 mg subcutaneous injection for relapsing and primary progressive MS, subject to a phase 4 study in Indian patients.
NeurologyA target-trial emulation found fewer relapses with ocrelizumab and slightly less progression with ofatumumab, with tiny absolute differences between the two anti-CD20 drugs.
NeurologyIn more than 1,600 patients, doses of 1,200 to 1,800 mg deepened B-cell depletion but did not slow disability progression more than the approved 600 mg every six months.
NeurologyElevated GFAP raised the risk of PIRA by 36% to 45%, and falling GFAP on anti-CD20 therapy was linked to a 67% lower PIRA risk.
NeurologyOver three years, 123 patients on cyclophosphamide had longer worsening-free survival and longer time to first relapse than 81 on siponimod.
NeurologyIn 85 patients, deep grey-matter loss slowed from -1.01% to -0.36% a year and SDMT scores rose by 3.8 points a year.
NeurologyIn 178 patients with at least five years' follow-up, first PIRA events occurred in 37.1% on natalizumab and 32.6% on anti-CD20 therapy.
NeurologyIn 177 patients from Milan, ocrelizumab brought the neuroaxonal damage marker NfL to normal levels in the first year, while the astroglial marker GFAP fell after two years.
NeurologyAcross 1,639 scans in 349 patients from the Amsterdam MS cohort, only 1.8% showed significant MRI activity over four years.
NeurologyIn 403 patients from four US centres, starting ocrelizumab first halved disability worsening and sharply reduced walking-aid use compared with starting it after other DMTs.
NeurologyIn matched cohorts of 55 paediatric-onset and 55 young-adult patients, relapse rates on ocrelizumab were identical, and EDSS improved more in the younger group.
NeurologyThe full paper confirms a 30% lower risk of progression and adds a 52% lower risk of becoming wheelchair-dependent and a 55% reduction in patients with baseline MRI activity.
NeurologyApproval rests on OPERETTA 2, where ocrelizumab reduced relapse risk by 48% and active lesions by 87% versus fingolimod in 187 children and adolescents.
NeurologyIn more than 1,000 people with primary progressive MS, including older patients and those with EDSS up to 8, ocrelizumab lowered 12-week composite progression to 32.7% from 40.4% on placebo.
NeurologyIn 1,497 people with relapsing MS, fenebrutinib cut annualised relapse rates by 51% to 59% and new enhancing lesions by 71% to 78%, but disability effects were not significant.
NeurologyOver one year, 96.4% of patients on the long-acting depot had no EDSS increase, versus 91.6% on placebo.
NeurologyIn 14,300 matched pairs, GLP-1 receptor agonist users had fewer relapses, optic neuritis episodes, fatigue and depression; a second study found activity more than doubled.
NeurologyAt 144 weeks, IV frexalimab reduced neurofilament light by about 47% and CXCL13 by 48%, with 86% of patients relapse-free.
NeurologyConsolidating ublituximab's two-step start into one infusion gave infusion-reaction rates of 15% to 31%, and 90% completed 48 weeks.
NeurologyFinal MINORE and SOPRANINO data: 93% to 100% of infants had normal B-cell levels at 13 months, and most mounted normal responses to routine vaccines.
NeurologyThe twice-yearly 10-minute injection matched IV ocrelizumab with near-complete suppression of relapses and MRI activity over two years.
NeurologyAmong 616 people with early relapsing-remitting MS, 82% had no sustained worsening of walking speed and 93% none of hand function after six years of ocrelizumab.
NeurologyAmong 266 matched patients, high-efficacy therapy lowered the annualised relapse rate to 0.13 from 0.37 and halved the risk of losing NEDA-3.
NeurologyQuantitative susceptibility mapping in 29 patients showed paramagnetic rim lesions lost iron signal faster than other lesions after ocrelizumab treatment.
NeurologyAmong 926 people with RRMS, both drugs gave the same annualised relapse rate of 0.071, with similar PIRA and MRI outcomes.
NeurologyIn 1,011 real-world patients, the annualised relapse rate fell from 0.58 before treatment to 0.05 on ocrelizumab, and 88% were still on treatment at four years.
NeurologyIn 985 PPMS patients, fenebrutinib was non-inferior to ocrelizumab on composite disability progression and lowered the risk of hand-function worsening by 26%.
NeurologyIn the phase 4 Aging study, patients over 65 had an annualised relapse rate of 0.02 on cladribine, with no new safety signals.
NeurologyIn a German matched cohort, 58 stable patients who stopped ocrelizumab had relapse (10% vs 11%) and PIRA rates similar to 232 who continued, over a median of 28.5 months.
NeurologySanofi received a complete response letter for its BTK inhibitor despite HERCULES meeting its disability endpoint; liver-enzyme rises had been a key concern.