https://goo.gl/aVPHwc
A newly approved drug that is the first to reflect the current scientific understanding of multiple sclerosis (MS) – is holding new hope for the hundreds of thousand's Americans living with the disease.
It also highlights the importance of clinician-scientists like UC San Francisco’s Stephen Hauser, MD, who are working to transform research into cures for patients.
The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday approved ocrelizumab (brand name Ocrevus) to treat both relapsing-remitting MS and primary progressive MS, the first time a therapy has been available for severe forms of the disease.
The drug, the first that targets B cells in the human body, grew out of the work of Hauser, chair of neurology at UCSF, whose team persevered for decades in elucidating the science behind MS, defending findings that contradicted long-standing assumptions and translating the science into a therapy.