Alemtuzumab Will Help Clinicians Treat Patients With MS More Effectively—By Mark Gudesblatt, MD

Multiple sclerosis (MS) treatments have been available for more than a decade. Several disease-modifying therapies are approved and routinely used with various degrees of effectiveness, tolerability, and compliance. Treatment options have continued to evolve in effectiveness, frequency of administration, and routes of delivery, but more targeted, effective, and safe options are still needed.

The alemtuzumab clinical trial outcome data are exciting. Alemtuzumab represents another effective therapeutic option that will help MS clinicians treat their patients more effectively. This novel agent has demonstrated significant improvement in effectiveness not only for reduced relapse rates and MRI disease activity suppression, but also for reduction of accumulated disability. These impressive and significant gains across multiple outcomes have been accomplished when compared not to placebo, but to one of our mainstays in available treatment. This improved ability to deliver more effective treatment safely and easily, without the worry of ongoing compliance concerns, represents a great advantage in our ongoing fight to limit the damage that this disease causes to our patients, friends, and colleagues.