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 | PRISMS Crossover Study Corroborates Benefit of Rebif as Treatment for RRMS |
 The PRISMS study, demonstrating the efficacy of Rebif, was completed in
2001. It demonstrated benefits in all outcome measures across the 2
year trial, particularly with respect to number of relapses, MRI
activity and disability progression. As with all major trials, there
was a placebo group, which provided the PRISMS study an interesting
opportunity to investigate what would happen if the patients originally
on placebo were then switched over to Rebif therapy. The results are
consistent with what one might expect:
Beginning in the third year (after two years of placebo), the placebo
patients were randomized into two groups, one receiving 22mcg, the
other 44 mcg, subcutaneously 3 times per week. At the end of years 3
and 4, the patients were evaluated, and both groups showed a 54%
reduction in mean relapse rate, as well as a "significant" improvement
in disability progression, MRI activity and T2 lesion burden.
Again this is nothing surprising-- because the patient group was well
understood in this study prior to inception of therapy, the results are
slightly more striking (e.g., instead of comparing a patient to an
average relapse rate expected of an RRMS'er, you can compare the
patient directly to their own relapse rate in the previous years).
The studies continue to corroborate that the Interferons do indeed work as disease modifying agents...
Click "read more" for the link to the abstract on PubMed...
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Posted by Administrator on Saturday, July 23 @ 17:37:30 EDT (1470 reads)
(Read More... | 1775 bytes more | Score: 0)
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| News: Rebif Market Share Growing; Antegren Viewed as Biggest Threat |
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Serono's (maker of Rebif) latest quarterly financial report exposes some interesting details. For starters, they're making a hefty profit-- no surprise. But past the raw financials, they reveal that Rebif currently has a ~17% US market share (up from ~13% last year), with a goal of achieving 30% by 2006. Perhaps most interesting is that Antegren is viewed as their biggest threat-- and that Rebif is essentially at Antegren's mercy: if Antegren does exceedingly well, it will destroy Rebif's market share. This is a rather obvious conclusion, but we should not overlook the implication-- analysts seriously consider the idea that Antegren could actually dominate the other treatments in efficacy-- that's hopeful!
"Serono SA, Europe's largest biotechnology company, said third-quarter profit rose 47 percent, boosted by demand for the multiple sclerosis medicine Rebif and payment from a partner...
Serono plans to grab 30 percent of the $2 billion U.S. market for MS drugs by 2006. Reaching that goal will depend on Serono's ability to defend its market against a new MS treatment, Antegren, being developed by Biogen Idec Inc. and its Irish partner Elan Corp...
``That's the big problem we have with Serono; it's not in their hands, they have to sit and wait and see how Antegren is doing,'' said Birgit Kulhoff, an analyst at Bank Sal. Oppenheim in Zurich, who rates Serono shares ``neutral.''...
Click "read more" for the full article...
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Posted by Administrator on Tuesday, October 26 @ 02:38:42 EDT (2746 reads)
(Read More... | 6102 bytes more | News | Score: 0)
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| Research: Long Term Study of Rebif Shows Positive Results |
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In 1994, Serono began a Rebif clinical trial called "PRISM." One of the subgroups in the trial was started on placebo for two years, then switched to Rebif for another two years. This situation gives researchers an opportunity to look at how the same patient reacts both with and without the drug. Today (6 years later!), Serono revealed the results of these so-called "cross-over" patients. And they are rather good, particularly in that they found 3/4 of patients on the higher dose of Rebif remained progression free for the two years...
"Patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) who were on placebo and then treated with Rebif(R) in the PRISMS study showed substantial clinical benefits with a 54% relative reduction in relapse rate...
The data also showed a significant improvement in MRI results for
patients treated with Rebif(R) 44 mcg. There was a highly, statistically
significant relative reduction in the mean number of brain lesions[1] of 67%.
In addition, 76% of patients treated with Rebif(R) 44 mcg remained free of
disease progression..."
Click "read more" for this article, an important read for anyone on, or considering getting on, Rebif.
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Posted by Administrator on Friday, October 08 @ 02:15:37 EDT (1878 reads)
(Read More... | 9956 bytes more | Research | Score: 3.66)
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| Research: Interferon 3 Times Weekly More Effective than Once per week |
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This study shows that 3x a week interferon-beta therapy (e.g., Rebif) is superior to 1x a week (e.g., Avonex) -- an important finding for those choosing between therapies.
"IFN-beta therapy has a central place in the management of relapsing multiple sclerosis, as demonstrated by the pivotal studies of three IFN-beta treatment regimens. However, questions remain concerning the optimal choice of preparation and dose regimen...
The added benefit of high-dose, high-frequency IFN-beta therapy is not achieved at the cost of compromised safety or tolerability, indicating that three-times-weekly treatment offers a superior benefit-risk ratio to once-weekly treatment."
Click "read more" for the full abstract...
Note: Note that while this study notes an Elan e-mail address, it was not sponsored by them but rather Serono, makers of Rebif.
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Posted by Administrator on Monday, August 02 @ 02:36:03 EDT (1700 reads)
(Read More... | 2495 bytes more | Research | Score: 0)
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| Research: Weekly Rebif Injections Not Useful in Secondary Progressive MS |
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This study shows that a weekly injection of Rebif will not help Secondary Progressive MS.
"OBJECTIVE: Interferon (IFN) beta has repeatedly shown benefit in multiple sclerosis (MS) in reducing the rate of relapse, the disease activity as shown with magnetic resonance imaging and, to some degree, the progression of disability; however, it is unknown how much the therapeutic response depends on the dose, the subgroup involved, and the disease stage. This multicentre, double blind, placebo controlled study explored the dose-response curve by examining the clinical benefit of low dose IFN beta-1a (Rebif(R)), 22 micro g subcutaneously once weekly, in patients with secondary progressive MS...
RESULTS: Treatment had no beneficial effect on time to confirmed progression on either the EDSS (hazard ratio (HR) = 1.13; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.82 to 1.57; p = 0.45 for 22 micro g v placebo) or the Regional Functional Status Scale (HR = 0.93; 95% CI 0.68 to 1.28; p = 0.67). Other disability measures were also not significantly affected by treatment."
Click "read more" for the full abstract...
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Posted by Administrator on Tuesday, May 04 @ 02:39:42 EDT (1568 reads)
(Read More... | 4125 bytes more | Research | Score: 2)
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