Biogen investigates death of patient who took Tecfidera

Discuss Tecfidera (BG-12, dimethyl fumarate) as an oral treatment for multiple sclerosis.
Post Reply
User avatar
MSUK
Family Elder
Posts: 2903
Joined: Wed Oct 14, 2009 2:00 pm
Contact:

Biogen investigates death of patient who took Tecfidera

Post by MSUK »

The death of a patient who had taken Biogen Idec Inc's new multiple sclerosis drug, Tecfidera, was unlikely to be linked to the medicine, the company said on Monday.

Biogen said it was made aware last week of the death of a 59-year-old woman who had been treated with Tecfidera, and that it was actively gathering facts about the case.

Based on the circumstances of the case and the cause of death, "a link to Tecfidera is unlikely," said Biogen spokeswoman Kate Niazi-Sai...... Read More - http://www.ms-uk.org/index.cfm/BG12
MS-UK - http://www.ms-uk.org/
User avatar
cheerleader
Family Elder
Posts: 5361
Joined: Mon Sep 10, 2007 2:00 pm
Location: southern California

Re: Biogen investigates death of patient who took Tecfidera

Post by cheerleader »

Tecfidera depeletes lymphocytes, which would leave this woman susceptable to a deadly infection--like PML or cpn. This is a known side-effect, and there is a warning on this drug stating this fact. How can Biogen now claim there is no correlation??

Please people, keep an eye on your lymphocyte levels if you take this drug.
cheer
Husband dx RRMS 3/07
dx dual jugular vein stenosis (CCSVI) 4/09
http://ccsviinms.blogspot.com
centenarian100
Family Elder
Posts: 504
Joined: Mon Apr 15, 2013 9:51 am

Re: Biogen investigates death of patient who took Tecfidera

Post by centenarian100 »

cheerleader wrote:This is a known side-effect, and there is a warning on this drug stating this fact. How can Biogen now claim there is no correlation??
Exactly. Of course, the company that markets a potentially multi-billion dollar drug should not be trusted to comment on its safety.

That being said, I wouldn't let a single case of fatal pneumonia scare me away. Plenty of people on and off the drug will die of various maladies. That being said, I agree with cheerleader that it is a sign that doctors should consider closer monitoring of lymphocytes until they have more post-market experience with the drug.

It may be that a small percentage of patients on tecfidera have an idiosyncratic severe lymphocytopenic reaction putting them at significant increased risk of infections.
Post Reply
  • Similar Topics
    Replies
    Views
    Last post

Return to “Tecfidera (BG-12, Dimethyl fumarate)”