Multiple sclerosis therapy:: An update on recently finished trials

Six pharmacological agents are currently approved for the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS). However, all established substances are only partially effective in reducing disease progression or relapse rates. In addition, they have potentially serious side effects. Thus, significant efforts are being made to develop new agents or to optimize current therapies. The latter includes modifications of dose, route of administration or the time point of treatment initiation. In this review, we provide an update on the most important clinical phase II/III trials on approved and novel immunotherapeutic strategies in MS reported during the last two years. Pharmacotherapies include agents that target chemoattraction, cell migration, chemotherapies, and antigen-based therapies.