A 12 -Month, Open-label, Multi-center Study to Explore the Health Outcomes of FTY720

This is an interventional supportive care trial for Multiple Sclerosis focused on measuring Relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis, Fingolimod, FTY720 Read More

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Diagnosed with RRMS as described in 2005 Mc Donald criteria
2. Provided written informed consent prior to any intervention
3. Female or male patients aged 18-65 years

4. Unresponsive to treatment with a beta interferon or glatiramer acetate for a minimum of one year at and at adequate dose and with high disease activity

   (Unresponsive patients: patients with no changes in relapses, increased relapses, severer relapses with one-year treatment or those who had had at least one relapse during the past one year under previous treatments and one or multiple contrast enhancing lesions in cranial MRI or increased T2 lesions in successive MRIs)

5. EDSS score below 5.5 at baseline

Exclusion Criteria:

• Treatment-naive RRMS patients 2. History of a chronic disease of the immune system other than MS or known immunodeficiency 3. Past or current malignancy 4. Diabetic patients with mild or severe, non-proliferative or proliferative diabetic retinopathy and uncontrolled diabetic patients with HbA1c > 8% 5. Evidence of macular edema (patients with a history of macular edema will be allowed to enter the study provided that they do not have macular edema at screening.) 6. Evidence of uveitis 7. EDSS score > 5.5 at baseline 8. Active systemic bacterial, viral or fungal infections, or known to have AIDS, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C infection or have positive HIV antibody, Hepatitis B surface antigen or Hepatitis C antibody tests 9. No history of varicella and negative varicella-zoster virus IhH antibody test at screening (such patients may be included after being administered VZV vaccine, at least 1 month following vaccination.) 10. Patients who received any live or live attenuated vaccine during the last one month (including varicella-zoster virus or measles) 11. Patients who received total lymphoid irradiation or bone marrow transplantation 12. Patient who received any of the treatment below:

  1. Corticosteroids or adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) during the last 1 month
  2. Immunosuppressive medications such as azathioprine or methotrexate etc.
  3. Immunoglobulin treatment during the last 3 months

  4. Cladribine, cyclophosphamide, mitoxantrone, natalizumab at any time 13. Patients with any of the following cardiovascular conditions: Resting heart rate < 45 bpm/min Cardiac failure at time of screening (Class III according to NYHA classification) or any severe cardiac as determined by the physician Myocardial infarction during the last 6 months History of Mobitz Type II grade 2 AV block Past or current grade 3 AV block Confirmed history of sick sinus syndrome or sino-atrial heart block arrhythmia requiring current treatment with Class Ia drugs (ajmaline, disopyramid, procainamide, quinidine) hypertension uncontrolled with medication 14. Patients with any of the pulmonary conditions below severe respiratory disease or pulmonary fibrosis Uncontrolled asthma 15. Pregnant or nursing (lactating) women (pregnancy is defined as the state of a female after conception and until the termination of gestation and should be confirmed by a positive hCG laboratory test (> 5 mIU/ml).

     16. Patients with any of the hepatic conditions below: Alcohol abuse, chronic hepatic or biliary disease, severe hepatic impairment (Child- Pugh class C) Total bilirubin above the upper limit of normal provided that it is not associated with Gilbert's syndrome Conjugated bilirubin above the upper limit of normal Alkaline phosphate (AP) 1.5 times above the upper limit of normal AST(SGOT), ALT (SGPT) 2 times above the upper limit of normal, gamma-glutamyl-transferase (GGT) 3 times above the upper limit of normal