1209. What is ULTOMIRIS?

Dr. Michael Levy joined Dr. GG deFiebre of SRNA for the “Ask the
Expert” podcast episode titled "What is ULTOMIRIS?" Dr. Levy
explained that ravulizumab (ULTOMIRIS) is the newest FDA-approved
medication for neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD),
offering a longer dosing interval compared to eculizumab
(Soliris) [00:01:08]. Dr. Levy discussed the mechanism of
ULTOMIRIS, which blocks the complement system to prevent relapses
in NMOSD and highlighted the importance of vaccinations and
possible antibiotic use to prevent infections while on this
medication [00:02:48]. He also noted that ULTOMIRIS is more
affordable than Soliris and emphasized the need for insurance
coverage to make it accessible to patients [00:16:39].





Michael Levy, MD, PhD is an Associate Professor of Neurology at
Massachusetts General Hospital and Research Director of the
Division of Neuroimmunology & Neuroinfectious Disease. He
completed the MD/PhD program at Baylor College of Medicine with a
focus on neuroscience. In 2009, Dr. Levy was appointed to the
faculty as Assistant Professor at Johns Hopkins where he started
the Neuromyelitis Optica Clinic and Research Laboratory and in
2019 he moved to the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard
Medical School to develop the research program in
neuroimmunology.





Clinically, Dr. Levy specializes in taking care of patients with
rare neuroimmunological diseases including neuromyelitis optica,
transverse myelitis, MOG antibody disease, acute disseminated
encephalomyelitis and optic neuritis. In addition to
neuroimmunology clinics, Dr. Levy has a special interest in
patients with superficial siderosis of the central nervous
system. Dr. Levy is the principal investigator on several
clinical studies and drug trials for all of these conditions.





In the laboratory, Dr. Levy’s research focuses on the development
of animal models of neuromyelitis optica and transverse myelitis
with the goal of tolerization as a sustainable long-term
treatment.