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news.A fourth possible case of a rare and often deadly nerve disorder has been discovered in a patient taking Tysabri, the multiple-sclerosis drug previously withdrawn from the market by co-producers Biogen and Elan.
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The companies are investigating an unconfirmed report of a Tysabri patient with symptoms consistent with progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), a rare brain disease. Of the three previous patients to contract the disease, two have died. The potential billion dollar drug was withdrawn from the market in February 2005 following these revelations.
Since the news broke shares in Biogen have dropped 4.3% with Elan taking an even greater hit loosing a further 13%.
Elan had recently told shareholders the company expected the suspended drug to be put back onto the market, raising share price as a result. Analysts now consider this to be very unlikely.
Medical records of patients previously taking Tysabri are now being analyzed by the two companies. They expect to complete their review in the near future. The new case of the disease has raised the question of whether the possible connection between drug and disease should have been disclosed sooner. Early indications of the link were marred by the hope that the severe side effect was only a result of combination therapy and was not produced by the drug when used alone.