Antibodies level went after a third dose but the response was weaker among those being treated with fingolimod than among those taking anti-CD20 treatments such as Rituxan.
A third dose of one of either the Pfiizer of Moderna COVID-19 vaccines was safe and associated with modestly increased levels of antibodies against the disese, according to a new study.
Around 80% of all MS patients treated with anti-CD20 therapy or fingolimod (Novartis’s Gilenyea) have weak humoral immune responses after two doses of messenger RNA (mRNA) COVID-19 vaccines, wrote Marton Konig, M.D., Ph.D., an Oslo University Hospital neurologist, in a short report about their results in the Jan. 24, 2022, issue of JAMA Neurology.
Konig and colleagues enrolled patients from three university hospitals starting March 2021. After two doses of mRNA vaccines, the patients were offered a third dose of the either the Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines
Antibodies to the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 were measured in all patients three to 12 weeks after full vaccination and three to 5 weeks after revaccination.
Konig and team found that a third dose of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines was safe and associated with modestly increased levels of antibodies in patients with reduced protective humoral immunity before reimmunization.
A higher proportion of patients who were treated with anti-CD20 therapy experienced a strong antibody response than patients treated with fingolimod. Twenty-five of the 101 patients treated with anti-CD20 therapy had antibody levels that were high enough to protect against the SARS-CoV-2 virus compared with just two of the 29 patients treated with fingolimod. The anti-CD20 drugs include Rituxan (rituximab) and Ocrevus (ocrelizumab).
“A 25% increase in the number of patients who experienced seroconversion after revaccination and who were treated with anti-CD20 therapy may be of clinical relevance, as these patients have an approximately three-fold risk of developing serious COVID-19,” Konig wrote.
The results suggest that revaccination of these patients should be considered, Konig added.
This data is based off of a study conducted by a group of researchers led by Niklas Frahm from the German Multiple Sclerosis Registry to compare the characteristics of patients with MS who switched from their first disease-modifying therapies (DMT) with those of patients who continued taking their first DMT.
Read More
Most Real-World Studies Report Positive Outcomes of Rituximab Use in Multiple Sclerosis
May 8th 2024Although several clinical trials have confirmed the safety and efficacy of rituximab in oncology and autoimmune disease, and even as off-label use in MS, real-world evidence is still necessary to help guide clinicians and managed care professionals in their treatment and coverage decision-making.
Read More
Diabetes Weight Loss Drugs Could be Linked to Reduced Risk of MS, Study Finds
April 12th 2024Drug repurposing has recently emerged as an attractive pathway for developing new treatments due to its relatively fast and cost-efficient trajectory. Because obesity and MS share inflammatory properties, researchers used data from the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System to investigate the association between weight loss-inducing drugs and MS
Read More
Specialty Pharmacist Interventions Result in More Than $150,000 in Cost Avoidance For MS Patients
April 4th 2024Darina Georgieva, Pharm.D., and her colleagues from the department of pharmaceutical services at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, conducted a retrospective observational study to learn the costs avoided through specialty pharmacist interventions for patients at the Vanderbilt MS Clinic. The study results were published in the Journal of Managed Care and Specialty Pharmacy earlier this month.
Read More