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news.Teva Pharmaceutical Industries has presented study results demonstrating the efficacy of its multiple sclerosis drug Copaxone in treating patients who had stopped responding to Avonex, a rival drug marketed by Biogen Idec.
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Israel-based Teva claims the study observing patients with relapsing-remitting MS found that Copaxone lowered their annual relapse rate 57% more than Avonex, and that that neurologic disability, did not worsen in 86% of patients.
Both drugs are approved to treat relapsing-remitting MS, the most common form of the disease.
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.
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.
“Our data demonstrated the benefits of Copaxone in reducing relapse rate in patients who were not effectively treated or could not tolerate other immune modulating therapies,” said Dr Khan.