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Avonex is a form of a protein called beta interferon that occurs naturally in the body. It is used to treat relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis. It will not cure your MS but may decrease the number of flare-ups of the disease and slow the occurrence of some of the physical disability that is common in people with MS. MS is a life-long disease that affects your nervous system by destroying the protective covering (myelin) that surrounds your nerve fibers.

Biogen Idec second-quarter revenues increase 11% to $1.2 billion

Biogen Idec Inc., a global biotechnology leader in the discovery, development, manufacturing, and commercialization of innovative therapies, today announced its second quarter 2010 results.

20 Jul 2010

Treatment options for patients with MS

The best one-word description for multiple sclerosis is "unpredictable," according to the June issue of Mayo Clinic Women's HealthSource. MS interferes with the communication between the brain and the rest of the body. Just how that interference plays out in symptoms is different for everyone -- thus, the unpredictable label.

24 Jun 2010

FDA advisory committee recommends approval of Novartis' FTY720 for relapsing MS

Today, an advisory committee of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommended approval of FTY720 (fingolimod) for the treatment of patients with relapsing multiple sclerosis, the most common form of the disease. The FDA has the option of seeking the advice of one of its advisory committees as it reviews and decides whether to approve a new treatment. The committee voted unanimously that FTY720 demonstrated substantial efficacy in treating relapsing remitting MS and that safety of the proposed 0.5 mg dose justified approval.

11 Jun 2010

Biogen Idec to join global MS community to commemorate the second annual World MS Day

On May 26, Biogen Idec will join the global multiple sclerosis community to commemorate the second annual World MS Day. Biogen Idec is a leader in the fight against MS, bringing hope to the thousands of patients across the globe who benefit from the company's MS therapies and ongoing research programs.

25 May 2010

Biogen Idec, Abbott commence enrollment in Phase III comparative study of daclizumab to AVONEX for RRMS

Biogen Idec and Abbott today announced enrollment of the first patient in a global Phase III study evaluating the efficacy and safety of daclizumab compared to interferon beta-1a (AVONEX®) in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), the most common form of multiple sclerosis (MS).

25 May 2010

TYSABRI drives Biogen Idec's first-quarter revenues of $1.1 billion

Biogen Idec Inc., a global biotechnology leader in the discovery, development, manufacturing, and commercialization of innovative therapies, today announced its first quarter 2010 results.

20 Apr 2010

AstraZeneca/Targacept's TC-5214 for treatment resistant depression to earn Decision Resources' gold standard status

Decision Resources, one of the world's leading research and advisory firms for pharmaceutical and healthcare issues, finds that, for treatment resistant depression therapy, AstraZeneca/Targacept's TC-5214 will earn Decision Resources' proprietary clinical gold standard status in 2013 (following its approval that year) and through 2018.

20 Apr 2010

Study: Atorvastatin may slow down MS progression

A UCSF-led study examining the impact of statins on the progression of multiple sclerosis found a lower incidence of new brain lesions in patients taking the cholesterol-lowering drug in the early stages of the disease as compared to a placebo.

15 Apr 2010

Biogen Idec reports 2009 fourth quarter and full year earnings

Biogen Idec Inc., a global biotechnology leader in the discovery, development, manufacturing, and commercialization of innovative therapies, today announced its full year and fourth quarter 2009 results.

9 Feb 2010

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries extends marketing rights for laquinimod, includes Nordic and Baltic regions

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. and Active Biotech announced today that they have amended the marketing and distribution agreement for oral laquinimod, an investigational treatment for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). Under the new agreement, Teva extended its marketing and distribution rights to include the Nordic and Baltic regions, previously held by Active Biotech. Active Biotech will receive a higher royalty rate for sales in these territories compared to the royalty rate set under the original licensing agreement signed in 2004 for sales in the rest of the world.

9 Feb 2010

Results of two pivotal Phase III clinical trials with oral FTY720 published

Results of the TRANSFORMS and FREEDOMS studies, the two pivotal Phase III clinical trials with oral FTY720 (fingolimod), have been published in The New England Journal of Medicine, providing comprehensive evidence to support the efficacy and safety profile of this first-in-class therapy for multiple sclerosis (MS).

21 Jan 2010

BioTrends Research Group releases Wave One LaunchTrends: EXTAVIA report

BioTrends Research Group, Inc. announces the release of the Wave One LaunchTrends(®): EXTAVIA report. The survey was completed by U.S. Neurologists Extavia (Interferon beta 1b).

12 Jan 2010

Biogen Idec announces total revenues of $1.12 billion for third quarter 2009

Biogen Idec Inc., a global biotechnology leader in the discovery, development, manufacturing, and commercialization of innovative therapies, today reported its third quarter 2009 results.

20 Oct 2009

AVONEX results in fewer injection site reactions, according to a clinical study

Data from an observational phase IV study of 499 patients entitled The Swiss MS Skin Project show that multiple sclerosis (MS) patients taking AVONEX (interferon beta-1a IM) reported significantly fewer injection site reactions (ISRs) compared to patients on Betaferon- (interferon beta-1b), Copaxone- (glatiramer Acetate) or Rebif - (interferon beta-1a).

13 Sep 2009

Biogen Idec's MS franchise to present at the 25th Congress of ECTRIMS

Biogen Idec today announced more than 70 platform and poster presentations from the company’s multiple sclerosis (MS) franchise being presented during the 25th Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS) in Düsseldorf, Germany.

3 Sep 2009

Costly biologics drugs prompt exclusivity debate

"A bitter Congressional fight over the cost of superexpensive biotechnology drugs has come down to a single, hotly debated number: How many years should makers of those drugs be exempt from generic competition?" The New York Times reports.

22 Jul 2009

MS patients not receiving medications to slow disease progression

Neurologists at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center have found that many patients diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) are not taking or being prescribed drugs approved to treat the disease.

17 Apr 2007

MS sufferers relieved as drug Tysabri goes back on the market

The Food and Drug Administration in the U.S. has given it's approval for the multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri to be put back on the market.

6 Jun 2006

Mount Sinai launches CombiRx trial to treat relapsing-remitting Multiple Sclerosis

Mount Sinai School of Medicine is the Clinical Coordinating Center for the first study to assess the effectiveness of combining two FDA approved medications as initial treatment for people with Relapsing Remitting Multiple Sclerosis.

11 Apr 2006

Multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri could be back on the market later in the year

The drug Tysabri which was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of multiple sclerosis in November 2004, was taken off the market in late February, after two cases of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, or PML, appeared in patients given the drug during clinical trials.

9 Jun 2005