A drug initially developed to treat some types of cancer now appears to help people suffering from relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a new study.
The drug, alemtuzumab, proved effective in patient trials at reducing relapses – a key feature of MS which sees symptoms appear sporadically.
This result was seen both in patients who had not previously received any treatment and those who have continued to show disease activity while taking an existing treatment for MS, the study published in the journal The Lancet found.
In one trial with patients who had recently relapsed, new episodes were reduced by 49 per cent more than that achieved by the current standard treatment.
Over a two-year period, 65 per cent of patients on alemtuzumab compared with 47 per cent of patients on interferon did not relapse.
The study found that alemtuzumab also reduced the risk of acquiring disability by 42 per cent compared with interferon.
Disability worsened in 20 per cent of interferon patients and 13 per cent of aletuzumab patients.
At the end of the study, on average, patients taking alemtuzumab had less disability than when they started the trial whereas those on interferon had experienced worsening disability, it found.
A second trial had similar results.
The outcome “offers the prospect of substantial improvement in quality of life and a better future for thousands of people with MS,” said Alastair Compston from the University of Cambridge, principal investigator on both studies.
Many MS patients already use alemtuzumab, even though it has not been licensed for this purpose.
Both trials were Phase III, which is the final testing stage in a process to vet a new drug. Together, the two involved some 1,400 patients.
About 100,000 people in Britain and about 400,000 in the US are believed to suffer from MS, which sees the immune system attacking the body’s own nerve fibres. Some 300 in Malta suffer from the same condition.
This affects vision, movement, balance, sensation, bladder control and eventually also memory and thinking.
About 85 per cent of patients start with a form of the disease known as “relapsing remitting” MS, with symptoms appearing sporadically (a relapse) before fading away again.
There is no cure, and existing drugs seek to reduce symptoms, said the statement. Success of a drug is measured by a reduction in the frequency of relapses.
The researchers found that alemtuzumab, licensed to treat leukaemia, appeared to increase the risk of certain auto-immune disorders, particularly those affecting the thyroid, but said these could be treated effectively.
The Lancet, in an editorial, said the results were encouraging but added that there were concerns that licensing the drug for MS may lead to a rise in cost.
“More effective, affordable, evidence-based treatments with long-term benefits are desperately needed,” it said.
“Finding promising treatments such as alemtuzumab is important. But so is keeping the drug accessible and affordable if its early success in these trials proves to be of enduring value.”
Regulatory authorities in the US and Europe are likely to approve the drug for MS use during the course of 2013, according to University of Cambridge spokeswoman Genevieve Maul.