New Drug for Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis is a devastating disease and those affected have a very difficult time. There is no known cure for MS. Current MS treatments must be given by injections and have varying success rates.

There is a new pill that shows promise, and drug maker Merck Serono says it will submit cladribine tablets for registration in the United States and Europe later this year. Known side effects of cladribine, currently used to treat leukemia, include fatigue, anemia and increased risk of infections.

The reports so far showed that MS patients taking the pills had an almost 60 percent lower relapse rate than those taking a placebo based on a two-year study that included more than 1,300 patients. The study was paid for by Merck and therefore there is inherent bias.

But even if some of the results are accurate, the news is promising.

If these results are accurate, cladribine is twice as effective as current primary treatments for MS and that could be very good news for the patients and families that suffer with the disease.