• Posted May 29, 2026

Drug Effective In Slowing Progressive MS, Trial Shows

An already-approved MS drug can significantly slow progression in people with primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS), according to a new study.

Patients treated with an IV infusion of ocrelizumab (Ocrevus) were less likely to have progression of their disability, researchers report in The Lancet.

Specifically, they had better hand function and arm dexterity, and they were less likely to need a wheelchair, researchers found.

“These findings are important because they show that treatment can make a meaningful difference to people with more advanced forms of MS and can help preserve hand and arm function, which is important for maintaining independence, daily activities and quality of life,” lead researcher Gavin Giovannoni said in a news release. He's a professor of neurology at Queen Mary University of London.

PPMS affects between 10% and 15% of people with multiple sclerosis, researchers said in background notes. Unlike relapsing forms of MS, disability worsens progressively over time, limiting treatment options.

There has been ongoing debate about whether people with more advanced MS might benefit at all from treatments like ocrelizumab, researchers said.

Ocrelizumab currently is prescribed to treat relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis, according to Drugs.com. It works by targeting and removing immune cells that promote MS-related inflammation.

For the new study, researchers recruited more than 1,000 PPMS patients across 22 countries, randomly assigning half to receive IV ocrelizumab every six months for nearly three years. The other half received a placebo IV, administered in the same way as the active drug.

Overall, patients treated with ocrelizumab had a 30% lower risk of disability progression, results showed.

Ocrelizumab also reduced the worsening of hand and upper-limb function by 41% at 12 weeks, and reduced the risk of requiring a wheelchair by 52%, researchers said.

Patients benefited even more if they had signs of inflammatory disease activity on baseline MRI scans, researchers said. There was a 55% lower risk of progression in those patients.

“MS can be debilitating, exhausting and unpredictable, and hand and arm function is essential for helping people to remain independent,” said Catherine Godbold, senior research communications manager at the MS Society in London.

“Many previous trials have focused solely on walking ability as a measure of whether a drug is effective. But trials like this are vital in helping us find treatments for everyone,” added Godbold, who reviewed the findings.

“Ocrelizumab is already used as a treatment for active relapsing MS and early primary progressive MS. These results could mean it is made available for more people with primary progressive MS, who don’t currently have access to any treatment options,” she said in a news release. “The key now is how we work together to see these findings translated into clinical practice."

More information

Johns Hopkins Medicine has more about primary progressive multiple sclerosis.

SOURCE: Queen Mary University of London, news release, May 28, 2026