Biosimilar medications, also known as biological drugs, is a technical term used to describe an equivalent medication, most of which are derived from living cells and organisms, and created using genetically modified protein cells, which mimic those our bodies naturally produce. The main goal of treating diseases with biosimilar medication is to reduce symptoms and slow disease progression. Such is the case when biosimilar medications (namely Tecfedera, Copaxone, Aubagio, and Ginenya) are used to treat multiple sclerosis.

Multiple sclerosis, or MS, is an autoimmune disease of the central nervous system (or brain and spinal cord). MS is a progressive disease that triggers an immune system attack against the myelin, or fatty protective covering of nerve fibers. In wearing down this protective myelin coating, leaving nerves exposed to damage and a build of up scar tissue, so that the brain can no longer transmit signals to the body correctly. As a result a variety of symptoms may occur including:

• Compromised vision (i.e., double vision and blurriness)
• Extreme fatigue
• Numbness and tingling
• Impaired speech
• Loss of bladder and bowel control
• Mobility issues and coordination issues
• Muscle spasms and muscle weakening

Biosimilar medications are being used to treat multiple sclerosis (MS) in three main ways—firstly to reduce MS relapses (or attacks), secondly to regulate immunity, and thirdly to manage the painful symptoms of MS, in order to increase both comfort and quality of life. Let’s look at the specific ways biosimilar medications are being used in MS treatment:

1. Biosimilar immune regulators

These drugs are meant to help regulate, or modulate or suppress the immune system, or specifically the abnormal immune response against CNS antigens, which trigger inflammation in the brain and spinal cord and damage to myelin. In this way, treatment with biosimilar immune regulators treat MS by reducing the frequency and duration of MS attacks.

2. Biosimilars to manage MS relapse

MS attacks, or relapses, are triggered by inflammation within the central nervous system that prompts gradual damage done to the myelin (protective nerve coating), which interrupts nerve impulses and causes the bulk of MS symptoms (i.e., weakness, mobility issues, blurred vision).

3. Biosimilar monoclonal antibodies

Biosimilars of monoclonal antibodies (or mAbs) act as biological agents used in the treatment of several autoimmune diseases, like MS, but also non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas, to slow the overall progression rate of the disease.