"A late-stage clinical trial of oncology drug Rituxan failed to show it was effective in treating a certain type of multiple sclerosis, according to Genentech Inc. and Biogen Idec Inc. and Biogen said that in a Phase II/III trial, Rituxan didn't show the antibody-based medication could effectively slow the progression of primary-progressive multiple sclerosis, or PPMS.
The companies added that currently there are no effective treatments for PPMS, a particularly hard to treat form of the disease. Rituxan is already approved for the treatment of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and rheumatoid arthritis."