Pharmaceutical Business review

Better patient compliance with Teva MS drug

The study compared these results to patients taking an alternative treatment for MS called interferon beta. Only 30% of patients taking interferon beta remained on the treatment.

The study included patients receiving Copaxone or interferon beta treatments including Avonex, Betaseron or Rebif. All are known as immunomodulatory therapies (IMTs).

Data also showed that patients taking Copaxone had a significantly reduced relapse rate in comparison with Avonex.

The results of this follow-up analysis reinforced and extended the four-year results presented in 2005, which demonstrated better adherence in Copaxone patients versus those taking interferon therapies.

“The significantly higher treatment adherence rate demonstrated by Copaxone patients in this study, coupled with a robust response to treatment, may be meaningful to clinicians when it comes to recommending an initial IMT to patients,” said Dr Judith Haas, head of the department of neurology at the Jewish Hospital in Berlin.