Cladribine for multiple sclerosis.

In the UK, there are twelve disease-modifying drugs licensed for various forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), of which three are oral therapies. An oral formulation of cladribine (Mavenclad - Merck Serono Europe Limited) was recently licensed by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for the treatment of adult patients with highly active relapsing MS. It is claimed to be "an innovatively simple approach" for treating this form of MS and "the only disease modifying therapy that can deliver and sustain 4 years of disease control with a maximum of 20 days oral treatment in the first 2 years." Here, we consider the evidence for its use in the treatment of highly active relapsing MS.