Ibudilast Phase II study

By: Dr. James W. Stark

The New England Journal of Medicine recently published the results of a phase II study of a new Multiple Sclerosis medication called Ibudilast. The study looked at the rate of brain atrophy in patients with progressive MS taking ibudilast versus placebo. The study was considered successful in that they found the absolute difference in rate of change of atrophy between the two groups to be 0.00009, which was technically a statistically significant difference, although at a very low level. The clinical significance of such a miniscule difference is not known and none of the other endpoints in the study reached statistical significance. More research with ibudilast is ongoing.