New MS Drug

Originally Released: January 16, 1997
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NEW DRUG NOW AVAILABLE TO TREAT MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS

Jan. 16--People with Multiple Sclerosis now have a new treatment option to reduce the number of attacks, or relapses, and lower their risk of long-term disability. The Food and Drug Administration has approved Copolymer 1, known commercially as Copaxone, for use in treating MS. It is only the second type of drug to be approved for MS.

"Copolymer 1 is an entirely different type of medication than the two beta interferon products previously approved for the treatment of MS," says Kenneth P. Johnson, M.D., chairman of Neurology at the University of Maryland Medical Center. Dr. Johnson was the project director of a national study of the new drug at eleven medical centers, including the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore. Dr. Johnson was also a key researcher of Beta Interferon, known as Betaseron, which became the first FDA-approved drug for MS in 1993. A second beta-interferon drug, Avonex, is also on the market.

The two-year, nationwide study of Copolymer 1 involved 251 patients. Half received the drug and the other half took a placebo. Researchers looked for the number of relapses, or attacks, among those in the study as an important indicator of how well the drug was working. The patients who took Copolymer 1 had a 32 percent lower relapse rate than the placebo group. The drug also had a positive influence on neurologic disability. Patients who took the drug had less on-going disability, such as problems with mobility and vision, between relapses and at the end of the study. In addition, there were few side effects.

With each attack, the body's immune system assaults the nervous system and can cause damage. Over many years, that damage may result in permanent disability. Multiple Sclerosis, which affects about 350,000 people in the U.S., is the number-one cause of disability among young adults age 15 to 45.

Reducing the number of relapses also makes a big difference in the quality of life of MS patients. They miss fewer days of work and have less disruption and worry in their daily lives.

"We clearly need new options. Because of flu-like symptoms and other side effects, about 20 percent of patients cannot tolerate the Beta Interferons. In addition, up to 35 percent of patients who are on Beta Interferons may develop antibodies to the drugs within three years that make them ineffective," says Dr. Johnson.

Copolymer 1 is a synthetic polypeptide developed at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel. The drug is administered by injection just under the skin, which patients give themselves.

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This page was last updated on: June 18, 2009.