Teriflunomide is a New Multiple Sclerosis Drug Treatment from drug manufacturer Sanofi-Aventis that doctors and patients hope can soon be added to the arsenal of drug weapons to fight the disease that afflicts more than 400,000 patients in the United States alone.

In a Canadian study, patients with the relapsing-remitting form of MS (RRMS) were randomly appointed to take either the Teriflunomide pill or a placebo.  The group taking the oral multiple sclerosis drug had a 31 % reduction in their relapse rates when compared to the placebo group.

Another study, conducted concurrently in these Multiple Sclerosis drug trials, tested the drug at different dosing levels.  It was concluded that the progression of the disease was reduced by almost 30% in the group taking the drug at the higher of the two levels.

These levels of relapse reduction and disease progression reduction are not particularly remarkable when taken alone. There …

Novartis MS research has been focused primarily on the new Novartis MS pill Fingolimod. But it doesn’t end there. Novartis Multiple Sclerosis research is also now developing a new oral medication for MS called BAF-312 for the time being. This is a second generation spingosine-1-phosphate receptor modulator. Currently in Phase II studies, it is now being tried on humans for the first time. The new Novartis Multiple Sclerosis drug is a back-up compound for Fingolimod, the Novartis MS stalwart. The phase II trial of BAF-312 is trying to determine the best dosage for use in further trials. BAF-312 acts on lymphocytes to limit or inhibit them from moving to inflammation sites.  Information on this drug is still very limited from Novartis. MS researchers are hopeful that it may be more selective in which receptors it modulates. More selectivity may result in better outcomes with less side-effects but that remains to …