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       #Post#: 1712--------------------------------------------------
       (CMSC) Ublituximab, going into Phase 3 trials, may be as good as
        Ocrevus or better
       By: agate Date: June 2, 2017, 7:45 pm
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       Presented at the annual CMSC conference (New Orleans, May 2017),
       this paper is discussed in MedPage Today, May 28, 2017. The
       shorter infusion time (than Ocrevus) looks promising:
       [quote]CMSC: Anti-CD20 Tx Offers Rapid B-Cell Depletion in MS
       Patients
       Agent can be delivered with shorter infusions
       
       by Ed Susman, Contributing Writer, MedPage Today
       NEW ORLEANS -- Treatment with ublituximab, an investigational
       glycoengineered anti-CD20 antibody, was well tolerated and
       demonstrated rapid and robust B-cell depletion in patients with
       relapsing or primary progressive multiple sclerosis (MS),
       researchers reported here.
       "Ublituximab efficiently depletes 99% of B cells, meeting the
       endpoint of the greater than 95% depletion within 2 weeks of the
       second dose, comparable to ocrelizumab (Orcevus)," said Amy
       Lovett-Racke, PhD, of the Ohio State University in Columbus, at
       the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC).
       However, Lovett-Racke reported that T-cell populations dipped a
       bit after patients took ublituximab, but then remained stable
       through 24 weeks of therapy.
       Ublituximab is a novel chimeric monoclonal antibody targeting a
       unique epitope on the CD20 antigen. It is glycoengineered to
       enhance affinity for all variants of receptors, thereby
       demonstrating greater antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity
       activity than rituximab (Rituxan) and ofatumumab (Arzerra),
       Lovett-Racke said.
       Ublituximab is currently in multiple phase III trials for
       treatment of hematologic malignancies, Lovett-Racke and
       co-authors pointed out. For this MS study, the dose was reduced,
       she explained.
       The 52-week, phase II, placebo-controlled, multi­center study
       was designed to assess the infusion time and optimal dose as
       well as safety/tolerability of the agent in relapsing MS
       patients The patients were about age 40, and 67% were women. The
       mean duration of MS was 8.8 years.
       During the placebo run-in phase of the trial, about 5% to 10% of
       B cells are in the peripheral blood, and "that is pretty normal
       levels of B cells," Lovett-Racke said. She illustrated how one
       patient with a normal level of B cells at the start of the
       treatment phase of the study showed a "complete loss of B cells
       within just 24 hours of treatment. And this loss is maintained
       through the initial 4 week period" of analysis.
       The researchers studied 60-minute, 90-minute, and 3-hour
       infusions schedules. The initial infusion schedule for patients
       was 4 hours, and then shortened for the second dose at day 15,
       and again at week 24 to 1-1.5 hours. During the first 2 weeks,
       each person in the study-drug arm received 450 mg of
       ublituximab.
       The primary endpoint was the responders rate, defined as the
       percentage of patients who achieved a 95% or greater reduction
       in peripheral CD19-positive B-cells within 2 weeks of the second
       infusion of ublituximab on day 15.
       Patients who began the study on placebo showed fluctuating B
       cells counts until they were switched over to ublituximab
       therapy, and then their B cell levels dropped dramatically.
       "After 2 days of treatment with ublituximab, the B cell counts
       have effectively dropped to 0 and remains at that level through
       week 4 for all the cohorts no matter what their initial therapy
       was or how long the infusions took to deliver the drugs,"
       Lovet-Racke said.
       There were no severe adverse events reported, even in patients
       who received rapid infusions with the study drug.
       Lovett-Racke also noted that T-cell counts remain stable across
       the different subgroups. "There is some fluctuation, but all the
       values remain in the normal range," she said.
       The authors concluded that "unlike other anti-CD20s, ublituximab
       can be delivered in shorter infusions, providing a convenience
       benefit for patients."
       CMSC session moderator Aliza Ben-Zacharia, DNP, of Mt. Sinai
       School of Medicine in New York City, praised the authors for
       presenting B-cell and T-cell data.
       "One of my concerns is that when you engineer certain molecules,
       there can always be some safety concerns," she noted. "When you
       manipulate a molecule, what are we creating? I liked that Dr.
       Lovett-Racke presented both B-cell and T-cell data. Most of the
       time, people just present the B-cell information."
       But she cautioned that this was a phase II study, "so we have a
       long way to go yet with this molecule before it will be used in
       practice."
       The study was sponsored by TG Therapeutics. Some co-authors were
       company employees.
       ______________________
       Lovett-Racke and Ben-Zacharia disclosed no relevant
       relationships with industry.[/quote]
       #Post#: 2926--------------------------------------------------
       Phase 2 multicenter study of ublituximab in patients w/relapsing
        forms of MS
       By: agate Date: June 3, 2020, 6:57 pm
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       From Multiple Sclerosis Journal (April 30, 2020)--"A phase 2
       multicenter study of ublituximab, a novel glycoengineered
       anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody, in patients with relapsing forms
       of MS":
  HTML https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1352458520918375
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