| Summary: | Clemens Warnke1, Heinz Wiendl2, Hans-Peter Hartung1, Olaf Stüve3, Bernd C Kieseier11Department of Neurology, Heinrich-Heine University Düsseldorf, Germany; 2Department of Neurology – Inflammatory Disorders of the Nervous System and Neurooncology, University of Münster, Germany; 3Department of Neurology, Dallas VA Medical Center and UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USAAbstract: Orally available disease-modifying drugs for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS) represent an unmet need for this chronic and debilitating disease. Among 5 currently investigated drugs at phase 3 clinical stage, promising efficacy data for fingolimod and oral cladribine have recently been published. However, benefits need to be weighed against the risks to define the role of these compounds within current treatment regimens. In this review, data on the efficacy of a promising compound, oral cladribine, are discussed and balanced with known and anticipated risks in a postmarketing era, and finally gives an outlook on the potential place of this drug in treatment algorithms for MS in the future.Keywords: immunosuppressant, oral drugs, risk–benefit, safety
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