Better than Avonex
Posted: Wed May 31, 2006 1:23 am
Don't you just love these head to head battles. Might it have something to do with Tysabri coming back onto the market? The CRABs on average reduce relapses by 30%. It's amazing how these other trials can show such dramatic improvements in efficacy. I've got to the stage where I don't believe a word of this sort of research
Teva says its MS drug works after Biogen drug fails
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. said on Wednesday that its multiple sclerosis drug Copaxone was shown in a clinical trial to be effective in patients who had stopped responding to Avonex, a competing drug made by Biogen Idec.
Israel-based Teva said the study of patients with relapsing-remitting MS found that Copaxone reduced their annual relapse rate by an additional 57 percent over Avonex, and that neurologic disability did not worsen in 86 percent of patients.
Officials at Biogen Idec, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, could not be immediately reached for comment.
Both drugs are approved to treat relapsing-remitting MS, the most common form of the disease, which causes a progressive disability that can include blurred vision, weakness, poor muscle coordination and loss of memory and mental function as nerves lose their insulating sheath.
The study involved 85 patients who had been treated with Avonex for at least 18 months before relapsing or experiencing intolerable toxicity. They were then switched to Copaxone and followed for an additional 36 to 42 months.
The results were published in the June issue of the European Journal of Neurology.
Dr. Omar Khan, associate professor of neurology at Detroit's Wayne State University and senior author of the study, said the results suggest that observation of relapse rates, patient tolerability, and toxicity assessment are valuable for determining when therapy should be switched.
Source : Yahoo News Copyright © 2006 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
Teva says its MS drug works after Biogen drug fails
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. said on Wednesday that its multiple sclerosis drug Copaxone was shown in a clinical trial to be effective in patients who had stopped responding to Avonex, a competing drug made by Biogen Idec.
Israel-based Teva said the study of patients with relapsing-remitting MS found that Copaxone reduced their annual relapse rate by an additional 57 percent over Avonex, and that neurologic disability did not worsen in 86 percent of patients.
Officials at Biogen Idec, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, could not be immediately reached for comment.
Both drugs are approved to treat relapsing-remitting MS, the most common form of the disease, which causes a progressive disability that can include blurred vision, weakness, poor muscle coordination and loss of memory and mental function as nerves lose their insulating sheath.
The study involved 85 patients who had been treated with Avonex for at least 18 months before relapsing or experiencing intolerable toxicity. They were then switched to Copaxone and followed for an additional 36 to 42 months.
The results were published in the June issue of the European Journal of Neurology.
Dr. Omar Khan, associate professor of neurology at Detroit's Wayne State University and senior author of the study, said the results suggest that observation of relapse rates, patient tolerability, and toxicity assessment are valuable for determining when therapy should be switched.
Source : Yahoo News Copyright © 2006 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.