When the first MS Pill come onto the market there were front news stories, doctor’s offices were flooded with questions and the manufacturer’s stock price did a healthy spike. This past fall, the FDA approved (and the market will soon see) a second oral medication to help fight multiple sclerosis… but not many are talking about it.

We wondered why.

First, a bit about the drug. The name of the compound in the drug is called Teriflunomide. It is an active metabolite of another drug, Leflunomide, which many people with rheumatoid arthritis have been taking for over a decade. The marketing name of this drug is called “Aubagio” (pronounced oh-BAH-gee-oh which rhymes with that Vegas hotel with the dancing waters).

This new drug has been tolerated well in trials, has similar efficacy as many of the other MS drugs and, while not side-effect free, seems to be on par in most other ways. In an effort to make the drug more affordable (or to encourage insurance companies to push for its use) Aubagio has been price below the injectable class of MS drugs.

Why then has so little buzz been around our community?

I don’t think it’s the side-effect profile; even though one of these would have pretty serious repercussions for both women and men intending to have children.

As a matter of fact, though the drug was approved last fall and many people first heard of it last week when a video, released by the National MS Society hit the internet.

The last twenty years have seen us go from not treatment at all for our disease to now nine disease modifying drugs. Are there now so many from which to choose (which can only be considered a good thing) that the “news” has gone out of such things? If this is the case, I have to wonder who the bottom-line driven pharmaceutical companies will judge the MS Community’s willingness to accept new drugs (and if that will affect their decision making when it comes to funding MS research.

I reach out to our Life With MS Blog community in asking if any of you have been on the clinical trials for Aubigao? How did you feel on the drug? What are your thoughts (whether or not you were on the study) about this drug? Thoughts on the future of MS drugs?

Wishing you and your family the best of health.

Cheers

Trevis