Tetsuro Fujita’s eureka moment about a Himalayan fungus came in 1985. As the scientist was driving over a bridge between Japan’s Shikoku and Honshu islands on his way to conduct research on traditional herbal remedies, Fujita was contemplating ways to keep patients’ immune systems from rejecting transplanted organs. He was particularly intrigued by the example of a parasitic fungus used in a Chinese medicinal soup. Known in Asia as “winter insect, summer plant,” the Cordyceps fungus invades an insect larva during winter, feeds on it for months, and then grows out of the host by summer. Fujita suddenly realized that the fungus must be suppressing the immune system of the insect larvae on which it grew to maturity.
His research on Cordyceps at Kyoto University eventually helped Japanese drugmaker Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma produce Gilenya, a treatment for multiple sclerosis that Novartis #NVS# licensed and began selling in the U.S. in October. UBS #UBS# says annual sales of the medicine, the first pill to treat the autoimmune disease afflicting more than 2 million people worldwide, may exceed $5 billion annually by 2018. That would rank it among the 10 best-selling drugs worldwide, based on data from researcher IMS Health. Mitsubishi Tanabe will likely book royalties equivalent to 10 percent of sales, based on the median of estimates by four analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News.
More about From Soup to MS Drug: One Fungus’s Journey – BusinessWeek
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“The results seem very promising but we don’t have details,” he said, noting they will be presented in early 2011. “Then, we will be much smarter.”
Teva said the laquinimod study comparing efficacy against a placebo met the primary endpoint of reducing annualized relapse rates, and treatment with the drug significantly slowed progression of disability.
More about RPT-UPDATE 2-Teva multiple sclerosis pill shines in big study | Reuters
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Merck Serono, a division of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, announced today that the two-year Phase III REFLEX 1 study met its primary endpoint by demonstrating that Rebif(R) (interferon beta-1a) significantly delayed conversion to multiple sclerosis (MS) diagnosed according to the McDonald criteria 2 in patients with a first clinical event suggestive of the disease.
The international REFLEX study with 517 patients was conducted with the serum-free formulation of Rebif(R) 3, which was first introduced in 2007 and is now available in all European Union countries, Australia, Canada and Switzerland, as well as a number of countries in Asia, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. The serum-free formulation of Rebif(R) is currently not available in the United States.
The risk of conversion to MS (McDonald criteria) over two years was reduced by 51% (p<0.00001) in patients who received Rebif(R) 44 mcg three times a week compared to placebo. A risk reduction of 31% (p=0.008) compared to placebo was observed in patients who received once-weekly administration of Rebif(R) 44 mcg. The probability of conversion to MS (McDonald criteria) over two years was 86% in the placebo group, 62% in patients who received Rebif(R) 44 mcg three times a week and 76% in patients who received once-weekly administration of Rebif(R) 44 mcg.
More details on this study
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Merck Serono to Introduce RebiDose(TM), the Rebif(R) Single Use Pre-filled Pen for Treatment of Multiple Sclerosis
“We are pleased to extend our range of devices with RebiDose(TM to meet the needs of patients looking for simple and minimum injection preparation,” said Roberto Gradnik, Head of Global Business Unit Neurodegenerative Diseases at Merck Serono. “The introduction of RebiDose, alongside RebiSmart, which was launched last year, underscores our commitment to improve the treatment convenience of multiple sclerosis patients, by offering them different options to suit their individual injection needs.”
RebiDose was specifically designed to provide MS patients with a quick and simple device. This pre-filled injection device may also be ideal for patients who are traveling. RebiDose used with Rebif will be available in a monthly pack in two different doses -22 micrograms and 44 micrograms – and in a titration pack including two different doses -8.8 micrograms and 22 micrograms. RebiDose has been approved in the European Union and in Australia. It will be launched on a country-by-country basis, with first launches planned by the end of the year.
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Talking about Novartis Gilenya MS Pill to Cost $48,000 a Year – Bloomberg
Novartis AG’s multiple sclerosis pill Gilenya will cost $4,000 a month in the U.S., according to a company spokesman.
Novartis has set a wholesale price at about $48,000 annually, Eric Althoff, a spokesman for the Basel, Switzerland- based company, said by e-mail. The company has programs to help patients with the cost of the drug, he said.
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Talking about MS Society of Canada – Treatment Notes (short updates, focused on news affecting MS treatment)
Health Canada has approved Sativex® [delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol 27 mg/mL (from Tetrabinex® – cannabis sativa L. extract – Bayer Inc.) as adjunctive treatment for symptomatic relief of spasticity in adult patients with multiple sclerosis. In 2005 Sativex® was approved for as adjunctive treatment for the symptomatic relief of neuropathic pain in adult patients with multiple sclerosis. Canada is now the third major country to approve Sativex® for symptomatic relief of spasticity in adult patients with MS.
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Real MS Voices
Imagine waking up and not knowing what your body will let you do, whether your sight will be blurry or your hands numb, whether you’ll even have the energy to climb out of bed. This is the reality for the 2.5 million people around the world who are living with MS.
Real MS is an international campaign that aims to raise global awareness and recognition of the disease and demonstrate how life with MS can be redefined in a positive and fulfilling way.
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