OCREVUS (also known as Ocrelizumab)

Mechanism:

Ocrevus is an antibody that targets CD20 on B lymphocytes which lead to destruction of those problematic cells.  Ocrevus was approved in March 2017 by the FDA and is a new tool for a  disease like multiple sclerosis (MS), which is thought to be caused by white blood cells attacking the central nervous system.

Indications:

Patients with relapsing or primary progressive forms of multiple sclerosis.

Contraindications:

Patients with active hepatitis B virus infection should not be started on Ocrevus.

Administration:

Ocrevus is typically administered as an infusion.  The starting dose is divided into two infusions spread two weeks apart; the initial infusions are administered over 2.5 hours.  Subsequent doses are repeated every 6 months; the maintenance infusions are administered over 3.5 hours.