Comparison of Alemtuzumab and Rebif® Efficacy in Multiple Sclerosis, Study One

Summary

The purpose of this study was to establish the efficacy and safety of alemtuzumab (Lemtrada™) as a treatment for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS), in comparison with subcutaneous (SC) interferon beta-1a (Rebif®). The study had enrolled participants who had not previously received MS disease-modifying therapies. Participants had monthly laboratory tests and comprehensive testing every 3 months.

Timeline

Start

2007-08

Primary completion

2011-04

Completion

2011-04

Outcome

Mixed primary results

registry analysis (superiority or other test); Interferon Beta-1a vs Alemtuzumab; p = 0.2173; Hazard Ratio (HR) 0.70 (95% CI 0.40 to 1.23) NCT00530348 ↗

registry NUMBER Interferon Beta-1a: 11.12 (7.32 to 16.71) percentage of participants with SAD NCT00530348 ↗

registry analysis (superiority or other test); Interferon Beta-1a vs Alemtuzumab; p <0.0001; Rate ratio 0.45 (95% CI 0.32 to 0.63) NCT00530348 ↗

registry NUMBER Interferon Beta-1a: 0.39 (0.29 to 0.53) relapses per participant per year NCT00530348 ↗

registry NUMBER Alemtuzumab: 0.18 (0.13 to 0.23) relapses per participant per year NCT00530348 ↗

Publications

• Background Cohen JA, Coles AJ, Arnold DL, Confavreux C, Fox EJ, Hartung HP, Havrdova E, Selmaj KW, Weiner HL, Fisher E, Brinar VV, Giovannoni G, Stojanovic M, Ertik BI, Lake SL, Margolin DH, Panzara MA, Compston DA; CARE-MS I investigators. Alemtuzumab versus interferon beta 1a as first-line treatment for patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis: a randomised controlled phase 3 trial. Lancet. 2012 Nov 24;380(9856):1819-28. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(12)61769-3. Epub 2012 Nov 1.
• Ziemssen T, Bass AD, Van Wijmeersch B, Eichau S, Richter S, Hoffmann F, Armstrong NM, Chirieac M, Cunha-Santos J, Singer BA. Long-term efficacy and safety of alemtuzumab in participants with highly active MS: TOPAZ clinical trial and interim analysis of TREAT-MS real-world study. Ther Adv Neurol Disord. 2025 Feb 10;18:17562864241306575. doi: 10.1177/17562864241306575. eCollection 2025.
• Coles AJ, Achiron A, Traboulsee A, Singer BA, Pozzilli C, Oreja-Guevara C, Giovannoni G, Comi G, Freedman MS, Ziemssen T, Shiota D, Rawlings AM, Wong AT, Chirieac M, Montalban X. Safety and efficacy with alemtuzumab over 13 years in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis: final results from the open-label TOPAZ study. Ther Adv Neurol Disord. 2023 Sep 21;16:17562864231194823. doi: 10.1177/17562864231194823. eCollection 2023.
• Riera R, Torloni MR, Martimbianco ALC, Pacheco RL. Alemtuzumab for multiple sclerosis. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2023 Jun 5;6(6):CD011203. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD011203.pub3.
• Dayan CM, Lecumberri B, Muller I, Ganesananthan S, Hunter SF, Selmaj KW, Hartung HP, Havrdova EK, LaGanke CC, Ziemssen T, Van Wijmeersch B, Meuth SG, Margolin DH, Poole EM, Baker DP, Senior PA. Endocrine and multiple sclerosis outcomes in patients with autoimmune thyroid events in the alemtuzumab CARE-MS studies. Mult Scler J Exp Transl Clin. 2023 Jan 3;9(1):20552173221142741. doi: 10.1177/20552173221142741. eCollection 2023 Jan-Mar.
• Coles AJ, Jones JL, Vermersch P, Traboulsee A, Bass AD, Boster A, Chan A, Comi G, Fernandez O, Giovannoni G, Kubala Havrdova E, LaGanke C, Montalban X, Oreja-Guevara C, Piehl F, Wiendl H, Ziemssen T. Autoimmunity and long-term safety and efficacy of alemtuzumab for multiple sclerosis: Benefit/risk following review of trial and post-marketing data. Mult Scler. 2022 Apr;28(5):842-846. doi: 10.1177/13524585211061335. Epub 2021 Dec 9.
• Kuhle J, Daizadeh N, Benkert P, Maceski A, Barro C, Michalak Z, Sormani MP, Godin J, Shankara S, Samad TA, Jacobs A, Chung L, Rӧsch N, Kaiser C, Mitchell CP, Leppert D, Havari E, Kappos L. Sustained reduction of serum neurofilament light chain over 7 years by alemtuzumab in early relapsing-remitting MS. Mult Scler. 2022 Apr;28(4):573-582. doi: 10.1177/13524585211032348. Epub 2021 Aug 11.
• Coles AJ, Arnold DL, Bass AD, Boster AL, Compston DAS, Fernandez O, Havrdova EK, Nakamura K, Traboulsee A, Ziemssen T, Jacobs A, Margolin DH, Huang X, Daizadeh N, Chirieac MC, Selmaj KW. Efficacy and safety of alemtuzumab over 6 years: final results of the 4-year CARE-MS extension trial. Ther Adv Neurol Disord. 2021 Apr 23;14:1756286420982134. doi: 10.1177/1756286420982134. eCollection 2021.
• Horakova D, Boster A, Bertolotto A, Freedman MS, Firmino I, Cavalier SJ, Jacobs AK, Thangavelu K, Daizadeh N, Poole EM, Baker DP, Margolin DH, Ziemssen T; CARE-MS I, CARE-MS II, and CAMMS03409 Investigators. Proportion of alemtuzumab-treated patients converting from relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis to secondary progressive multiple sclerosis over 6 years. Mult Scler J Exp Transl Clin. 2020 Dec 18;6(4):2055217320972137. doi: 10.1177/2055217320972137. eCollection 2020 Oct-Dec.
• Ziemssen T, Bass AD, Berkovich R, Comi G, Eichau S, Hobart J, Hunter SF, LaGanke C, Limmroth V, Pelletier D, Pozzilli C, Schippling S, Sousa L, Traboulsee A, Uitdehaag BMJ, Van Wijmeersch B, Choudhry Z, Daizadeh N, Singer BA; CARE-MS I, CARE-MS II, CAMMS03409, and TOPAZ investigators. Efficacy and Safety of Alemtuzumab Through 9 Years of Follow-up in Patients with Highly Active Disease: Post Hoc Analysis of CARE-MS I and II Patients in the TOPAZ Extension Study. CNS Drugs. 2020 Sep;34(9):973-988. doi: 10.1007/s40263-020-00749-x.
• Comi G, Alroughani R, Boster AL, Bass AD, Berkovich R, Fernandez O, Kim HJ, Limmroth V, Lycke J, Macdonell RA, Sharrack B, Singer BA, Vermersch P, Wiendl H, Ziemssen T, Jacobs A, Daizadeh N, Rodriguez CE, Traboulsee A; CARE-MS I, CARE-MS II, CAMMS03409, and TOPAZ Investigators. Efficacy of alemtuzumab in relapsing-remitting MS patients who received additional courses after the initial two courses: Pooled analysis of the CARE-MS, extension, and TOPAZ studies. Mult Scler. 2020 Dec;26(14):1866-1876. doi: 10.1177/1352458519888610. Epub 2019 Nov 25.
• Van Wijmeersch B, Singer BA, Boster A, Broadley S, Fernandez O, Freedman MS, Izquierdo G, Lycke J, Pozzilli C, Sharrack B, Steingo B, Wiendl H, Wray S, Ziemssen T, Chung L, Margolin DH, Thangavelu K, Vermersch P. Efficacy of alemtuzumab over 6 years in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis patients who relapsed between courses 1 and 2: Post hoc analysis of the CARE-MS studies. Mult Scler. 2020 Nov;26(13):1719-1728. doi: 10.1177/1352458519881759. Epub 2019 Nov 1.
• Okai AF, Amezcua L, Berkovich RR, Chinea AR, Edwards KR, Steingo B, Walker A, Jacobs AK, Daizadeh N, Williams MJ; CARE-MS I, CARE-MS II, CAMMS03409, and TOPAZ Investigators. Efficacy and Safety of Alemtuzumab in Patients of African Descent with Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis: 8-Year Follow-up of CARE-MS I and II (TOPAZ Study). Neurol Ther. 2019 Dec;8(2):367-381. doi: 10.1007/s40120-019-00159-2. Epub 2019 Oct 25.
• Li Z, Richards S, Surks HK, Jacobs A, Panzara MA. Clinical pharmacology of alemtuzumab, an anti-CD52 immunomodulator, in multiple sclerosis. Clin Exp Immunol. 2018 Dec;194(3):295-314. doi: 10.1111/cei.13208. Epub 2018 Oct 1.
• Havrdova E, Arnold DL, Cohen JA, Hartung HP, Fox EJ, Giovannoni G, Schippling S, Selmaj KW, Traboulsee A, Compston DAS, Margolin DH, Thangavelu K, Rodriguez CE, Jody D, Hogan RJ, Xenopoulos P, Panzara MA, Coles AJ; CARE-MS I and CAMMS03409 Investigators. Alemtuzumab CARE-MS I 5-year follow-up: Durable efficacy in the absence of continuous MS therapy. Neurology. 2017 Sep 12;89(11):1107-1116. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000004313. Epub 2017 Aug 23.
• Arnold DL, Fisher E, Brinar VV, Cohen JA, Coles AJ, Giovannoni G, Hartung HP, Havrdova E, Selmaj KW, Stojanovic M, Weiner HL, Lake SL, Margolin DH, Thomas DR, Panzara MA, Compston DA; CARE-MS I and CARE-MS II Investigators. Superior MRI outcomes with alemtuzumab compared with subcutaneous interferon beta-1a in MS. Neurology. 2016 Oct 4;87(14):1464-1472. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000003169. Epub 2016 Sep 2.

Drugs

Evaluation	Drug	Modality	Dose	Route
Subject	Alemtuzumab	Monoclonal antibody	12 mg	Intravenous
Comparator	Interferon beta-1a	Protein / enzyme biologic	44 ug	Subcutaneous

Indications