Teva completes enrollment in second Phase III trial

Jun 26, 2009 (Datamonitor via COMTEX) — Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, an Israeli generic pharmaceutical company, and Active Biotech, a Swedish pharmaceutical company, have completed patient enrollment for [...]

• Caroline says: Laquinimod is a pipeline oral MS drug. Teva and Active Biotech have completed pt enrollment for the 2nd pivotal Phase III clinical trial, Bravo, evaluating the oral once-daily immunomodulating compound, laquinimod, for the treatment of RRMS. Bravo is a global clinical trial designed to evaluate the efficacy, safety and tolerability of laquinimod compared to placebo, and to provide risk-benefit data for laquinimod compared to a currently available injectable treatment, Avonex.
   

• Hot off the AAN Press: Cladribine Reduces Relapses, Disability, Disease Progression

  April 29, 2009 Merck KGaA on Wednesday presented detailed results from a previously announced Phase III study of investigational oral multiple sclerosis drug cladribine at the American [...]

  • Caroline says: 1326 patients received cladribine or placebo in a 2-year study. According to Merck, the findings demonstrated that annual short-course treatment with cladribine significantly reduced the rate of clinical relapses, disability progression and brain lesions in patients with relapsing-remitting MS, and also led to a significant increase in the proportion of patients who remained relapse-free. And it's an oral...
     
  
  

  • Novartis MS drug linked to new side effect

    LONDON, April 14 — Fresh side-effect problems have emerged with Novartis AG’s experimental oral multiple sclerosis (MS) drug FTY720, with doctors reporting a case of haemorrhaging focal [...]

    • Caroline says: Well, this indicates that the 11 emerging drugs everyone has been excited about could be down to 10 (5 orals)...Novartis reports that a patient in their Phase III clinical trial developed haemorrhaging focal encephalitis (I had to look this up, but in simple terms, brain swelling followed by a bleed). This case was in addition to 2 patients in previous clinical trials had infections, one of which was fatal. Not good news for FTY-720 (fingolimod).
       
    
    

    • Dirucotide (BioMS) Phase III U.S. Trial Gets Positive Safety Review From Data Safety Monitoring Board

      Edmonton, Alberta, April 14, 2009 – BioMS Medical Corp. (TSX: MS), a leading developer in the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS), today announced that the independent Data [...]

      • Caroline says: Dirucotide is a synthetic peptide that consists of 17 amino acids linked in a sequence identical to that of a portion of human myelin basic protein (got that off BioMS website: www.biomsmedical.com). Dirucotide was developed specifically for people with secondary progressive MS.
         
      
      

      • SPMS Treatment Update: Spotlight on dirucotide (BioMS Medical Corp.)

        BioMS Medical Announces 2008 Year End Results Edmonton, Alberta, March 17, 2009 – BioMS Medical Corp. (TSX: MS), a leading developer in the treatment of multiple sclerosis [...]

        • Caroline says: I think this is very positive news for people with SPMS because up until now, many of the therapies have been approved for, and more importantly, only WORK for those with RRMS. This is an encouraging update. They have initiated Phase III trials!