Pregnancy outcome following exposure to ocrelizumab in multiple sclerosis

Background: Ocrelizumab is a monoclonal antibody targeting CD20-expressing B cells used in the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS). Currently, there is limited safety data in pregnancy.

Objectives: To report the pregnancy outcome following exposure to ocrelizumab in MS.

Methods: We retrospectively identified 14 pregnancies of 12 MS patients who had been exposed to ocrelizumab within 6 months prior to conception or during pregnancy from a specialty clinic in Western Australia.

Results: 13 of 14 pregnancies resulted in live births. One pregnancy was electively terminated following detection of a chromosomal defect. One pregnancy was complicated with placental insufficiency and the infant developed hyaline membrane disease which was complicated by sepsis. There were no observed major congenital anomalies, preterm births, stillbirths or low birthweight. We did not observe any serious maternal infections. All patients were relapse-free despite a mean ocrelizumab-free interval of 65.1 weeks.

Conclusions: We did not identify any major safety signals among the patients who received ocrelizumab prior to conception or during the first trimester of pregnancy. Our patients appeared to have a stable disease course despite a prolonged period of treatment interruption during pregnancy.