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There are numerous articles in which Reichert comments on several MS drugs. He is very "encouraged" in most of these pieces. A very different tone is used even when the drugs kill people or have dangerous side effects.
Here's his BIO in case you're interested:
John R. Richert, MD; Dr. Richert is Executive Vice President for Research & Clinical Programs at the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. He received his BA from Cornell University and MD from the University of Rochester. After his residency in Neurology at the Mayo Clinic, he was an MS Society-sponsored post-doctoral fellow in the Myelin Chemistry Section at NIH (NIMH) and then spent two additional years in the Neuroimmunology Branch at NIH (NINDS). He then joined the faculty in the Neurology Department at Georgetown University, where he founded their MS Clinic. He was at Georgetown for 25 years, during the last seven of which he served as Chair of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology. His research interests included abnormal gene expression in the immune systems of people with MS and clinical trials of new therapeutic agents in MS. He also served on the Board of Directors of Georgetown University Hospital. He joined the NMSS in his present position in the spring of 2005.
Here are a few quotes I found interesting.
Estriol:
Dr. John R. Richert, Executive Vice President of Research and Clinical Programs at the National MS Society, stated, "We're encouraged that the National MS Society's funding of the original pilot trial of estriol, which emerged from targeted research on gender differences in MS, has led to this new trial. We are pleased that Pipex and Dr. Voskuhl are committed to advancing the development of this novel approach which could potentially lead to an affordable, oral disease-modifying therapy for this debilitating disease."
Tysabri:
These reports raise concern and they underscore the importance of carefully tracking patients on powerful medications like Tysabri," said Dr. John R. Richert, executive vice president of research and clinical programs at the National MS Society. "This drug is relatively new to the market, and as experience grows we are bound to learn more about its benefits as well as possible adverse events," Dr. Richert added.
I'd be disappointed if the restrictions are so onerous that in practicality, it does not get used, Dr. Richert said. That could happen if, for example, the paperwork required of physicians is so extensive that they cannot afford the time to do it. Or the population for whom it is earmarked is so restricted that few people would be eligible to use it. I would be surprised if either of those things happened.
What's most important, Dr. Richert suggests, is for people with MS to have a choice in the process.
Alemtuzumab:
Hauser is chief of neurology at the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center.
"Taken together, the toxic effects associated with alemtuzumab considerably dampen any enthusiasm for its routine use in patients with multiple sclerosis until more is known about its long-term safety and sustained efficacy," he writes.
John Richert, MD, of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS), tells WebMD that it is increasingly clear that aggressive treatment early in the course of disease is a better strategy than waiting until MS progresses.
Drugs, drugs, drugs...............keep em' coming and he seems very happy.
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Rhonda~
Treated by Dake 10/19/09, McGuckin 4/25/11 and 3/9/12- blockages in both IJVs, azy, L-iliac, L-renal veins. CCSVI changed my life and disease.
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