Neurológia pre prax 5/2024

The initial results and our experiences from the OCARINA II study indicate that the subcutaneous form of ocrelizumab is comparable in efficacy to the intravenous form

Ocrelizumab is the first monoclonal antibody targeting the CD20 surface marker found on a subpopulation of B lymphocytes, which has been approved for the treatment of multiple sclerosis. Until now, this treatment was only available as an intravenous form with a relatively long administration time, albeit with high efficacy. As of July this year, its subcutaneous form has been approved based on the OCARINA II study, in which our center also participated. In this brief report, we summarize the basic achieved results from the study as well as our own experiences with this treatment, whose subcutaneous form has the potential to ease the burden on our patients with dosing once every six months. The new form also comes with an interesting recombinant hyaluronidase technology that allows the administration of large volumes subcutaneously, which has been a limiting factor for subcutaneous therapies in general until recently.

Keywords: crelizumab, multiple sclerosis, CD20, clinical trial, subcutaneous administration