Riulvy

Riulvy is a medicine used to treat multiple sclerosis, a disease in which the immune system (the body’s natural defences) attacks the protective insulation around nerves (myelin) in the brain and spinal cord, causing inflammation and damage to the nerves themselves. Riulvy is used in adults and children from 13 years of age with a type of multiple sclerosis known as relapsing-remitting, where the patient has flare-ups of symptoms (relapses) followed by periods of recovery (remissions). Riulvy is a ‘hybrid medicine’. This means that it is similar to a ‘reference medicine’ already authorised in the EU for multiple sclerosis, Tecfidera, but there are differences between the two. The active substances in Riulvy (tegomil fumarate) and Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate) are different, but they are both quickly broken down in the body into the same active form, monomethyl fumarate. Riulvy is used at higher doses than Tecfidera to achieve the same effects.