--- title: FDA Approves First Drug for Severe Multiple Sclerosis (MS) description: The FDA approved a new drug called Ocrevus for people with multiple sclerosis. canonical: https://time.com/4716684/fda-drug-approval-ms-multiple-sclerosis/ author: Alexandra Sifferlin article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-03-29T17:23:09.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T04:05:43.102Z article:section: Health og:title: FDA Approves First Drug for Severe Multiple Sclerosis og:description: The FDA approved a new drug called Ocrevus for people with multiple sclerosis og:url: https://time.com/4716684/fda-drug-approval-ms-multiple-sclerosis/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd8ec5e1b7b3a2ec1/6988604d428a9ee183ccebe6/rx-prescription-bottle-health-illo.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME.com stock health rx prescription bottle drugs og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: FDA Approves First Drug for Severe Multiple Sclerosis twitter:description: The FDA approved a new drug called Ocrevus for people with multiple sclerosis twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd8ec5e1b7b3a2ec1/6988604d428a9ee183ccebe6/rx-prescription-bottle-health-illo.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # FDA Approves First Drug for Severe Multiple Sclerosis by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Mar 29, 2017 5:23 PM UTC  Illustration by Sydney Rae Hass for TIME by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Mar 29, 2017 5:23 PM UTC Federal officials have [approved](https://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm549325.htm?source=govdelivery&utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fsource=govdelivery) the first drug to treat people with a severe form of multiple sclerosis (MS), a nervous system disease that harms the brain’s ability to communicate with the rest of the body. The new drug, called Ocrevus, is sold by the company Genentech and can be given through an intravenous infusion by a health professional. On Tuesday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Ocrevus to treat primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS) as well as more common relapsing forms of MS. Both diseases are characterized by cognitive decline and weakness. People with MS undergo periods of relapses and remissions, and the cycle can harm mental and physical function. An estimated 15% of people with MS will have PPMS, in which they have steady declines in function usually without relapses or remissions. In clinical trials, people with MS who took Ocrevus had lower relapse rates and less disability compared to people taking another drug for the disease. In a study of 732 people with PPMS, the drug slowed the men and women’s worsening symptoms better than a placebo. Though the drug does not halt disease progression for people with PPMS, it remains the first and only drug approved the condition. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4716684/fda-drug-approval-ms-multiple-sclerosis/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4716684/fda-drug-approval-ms-multiple-sclerosis/"},"headline":"FDA Approves First Drug for Severe Multiple Sclerosis","datePublished":"2017-03-29T17:23:09.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T04:05:43.102Z","description":"The FDA approved a new drug called Ocrevus for people with multiple sclerosis.","url":"https://time.com/4716684/fda-drug-approval-ms-multiple-sclerosis/","keywords":["medicine","FDA"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd8ec5e1b7b3a2ec1/6988604d428a9ee183ccebe6/rx-prescription-bottle-health-illo.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alexandra Sifferlin","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd8ec5e1b7b3a2ec1/6988604d428a9ee183ccebe6/rx-prescription-bottle-health-illo.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"TIME.com stock health rx prescription bottle drugs","caption":"TIME.com stock health rx prescription bottle drugs","creditText":"Illustration by Sydney Rae Hass for TIME","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/medicine/","name":"medicine"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4716684/fda-drug-approval-ms-multiple-sclerosis/","name":"FDA Approves First Drug for Severe Multiple Sclerosis"}}]}] ```