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Safety, Tolerability, and Efficacy of Oral Therapies for Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis

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Abstract

Treatment options for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) have been continuously expanding in recent years, and the emergence of a number of oral disease-modifying agents (DMAs) has significantly changed the landscape of therapeutic options for MS patients. Many of these oral DMAs have demonstrated satisfactory safety and tolerability profiles in clinical trial settings, but the long-term safety of these agents is an important concern. This review discusses salient points on the safety and clinical efficacy of the approved and emerging novel oral therapies in RRMS, including fingolimod, teriflunomide, dimethyl fumarate, laquinimod, and cladribine.

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Disclosures

Dr. Jiwon Oh has received consulting fees from EMD-Serono, Biogen-IDEC, and Genzyme. Dr. Paul O’Connor has received personal compensation (for consulting, serving on a scientific advisory board, or speaking) or grant support (for scholarly activities) from pharmaceutical companies that develop products for MS, including Actelion, Biogen Idec, Celgene, Genzyme, Sanofi-Aventis, EMD Merck Serono, Abbott Labs, Teva Pharmaceuticals, Bayer, Genentech, Lilly, Roche, and Novartis. Dr. O’Connor receives consultation fees from the MS Society of Canada.

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Dr. Jiwon Oh and Dr. O’Connor have received grant support from the MS Society of Canada.

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  1. Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Jiwon Oh

  2. St. Michael’s Hospital, Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Shuter 3-007, 30 Bond St., Toronto, ON, M5B 1W8, Canada

    Jiwon Oh & Paul W. O’Connor

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Oh, J., O’Connor, P.W. Safety, Tolerability, and Efficacy of Oral Therapies for Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis. CNS Drugs 27, 591–609 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40263-013-0080-z

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