Dear Readers,

It is with pleasure that we present to you the latest issue of MS Report. This time, we would like to focus on certain aspects related to ublituximab – one of the most recently developed anti-CD20 monoclonal antibodies available in Poland under a drug program.

In the first paper, prof. Mirowska-Guzel presents detailed information about ublituximab’s safety of use. The author discusses data on adverse effects, including infusion-related reactions, malignancies, infections, death and altered serum immunoglobulin levels. She pays particular attention to the safety of use of ublituximab during pregnancy and breastfeeding, taking into consideration data on pregnancy outcomes in women treated with the drug. The author also highlights the importance of spontaneous reporting as a key element in supplementing our knowledge of the drug’s safety.

In the next article, prof. Adam Stępień discusses the efficacy of ublituximab in the treatment of multiple sclerosis, outlining its role among B cell-targeted therapies. The author concisely reviews the role of B cells in the pathogenesis of the disease and describes the mechanism of action of ublituximab, focusing primarily on the results of the ULTIMATE I and ULTIMATE II clinical trials, as well as on data from long-term follow-up and real-world evidence. The results presented in the paper confirm the drug’s high efficacy in reducing disease activity and highlight the benefits of early use of high-efficacy treatment in patients with multiple sclerosis.

In the final article, dr Robert Bonek describes the mechanism of action of ublituximab from the perspective of molecular biology, focusing on the importance of the interactions between the Fc region of the antibody and the Fcγ receptors. He discusses the role of glycoengineering of ublituximab in enhancing antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity, as well as the impact of FcγR polymorphisms on immune response effectiveness. The author also compares the properties of ublituximab with those of other anti-CD20 antibodies and explains how differences in its structure and mechanism of action may affect treatment efficacy. The article provides an interesting overview of the current understanding of the molecular basis of anti-CD20 treatment and the prospects for its further optimization.

We hope you find this issue of MS Report inspiring.

prof. dr hab. n. med. Dagmara Mirowska-Guzel
dr n. med. Agnieszka Piechal