ONTARIO – Kesimpta received Health Canada approval on Jan. 22, 2021, to treat adult patients with RRMS. The drug targets and delivers B-cell therapy that provides the flexibility of self-administration for adults living with RRMS. Two Phase 3 studies demonstrated significant reductions in risk of relapses, confirmed disability worsening and MRI lesions.
In other words, the potential to relieve the debilitating symptoms of RRMS comes with the approval of Kesimpta. While taking the monthly injections, patients will no longer have to book appointments for treatment. The drug can be prescribed to patients to take while in the comfort of their homes.
"This is welcome news for people living with RRMS in Ontario and Quebec who rely on public reimbursement for their medications. We encourage other provinces to move swiftly in doing the same, as the more treatment options available to people living with MS, the more they can work with their care teams to effectively manage this chronic, disabling disease," said Dr. Pamela Valentine, President and CEO, MS Society of Canada.
Multiple Sclerosis is a chronic, often disabling immune disease that attacks the central nervous system, made up of the brain, spinal cord and optic nerve. It affects over 90,000 Canadians, with one of the highest prevalence rates in the world. MS can be characterized into four main types:
- clinically isolated syndrome (CIS),
- relapsing remitting (RRMS),
- secondary progressive (SPMS)
- primary progressive (PPMS).
These forms can be distinguished based on whether someone experiences relapses (clearly defined acute inflammatory attacks of worsening neurological function) and whether they experience progression of neurologic damage and disability from the onset of the disease.
"This is an important development for the MS communities in Ontario and Quebec, and I hope more provinces will follow shortly. People living with relapsing MS desire convenient options, so being able to offer patients a safe and highly efficacious treatment that can also be self-administered with a monthly subcutaneous injection moves us closer to achieving both the clinical goals of reducing disability and delaying progression while meeting the lifestyle needs and wishes of our patients," said Dr. Warren Berger, Neurologist, Department of Clinical Neurological Sciences, University of Western Ontario, London Health Sciences Centre, University Hospital, London.
In Ontario, the listing aligns with the recommendation from the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health, which reports that people living with MS place a high value on having a choice to select the administration, dosing schedule, side effect profile, and level of medication monitoring that best fit their lifestyle and personal preference. People suffering from MS are looking for a treatment that would result in fewer relapses requiring hospitalization, decrease work absenteeism, and allows them to remain active.
