MS Drug Tysabri Cuts Hospital Stays

U.S. firm Biogen Idec and Irish firm Elan said Friday new data show their multiple-sclerosis drug Tysabri cuts steroid use and hospitalizations.

The companies said data from phase 3 studies of the treatment showed that Tysabri significantly reduced the need for corticosteroids in patients taking the drug and number of hospital stays, and also revealed that a greater percentage of treated patients had no disease activity, meaning no additional relapses or disability progression.

Specifically, data from the phase 3 study showed treated patients saw a 69-percent relative reduction in the annualized rate of relapses requiring steroids, compared to those on placebo, and a 65-percent relative reduction in the annualized rate of MS-related hospitalizations over two years.

The companies said they would present the findings along with data on improved quality of life and cost-effectiveness measures in Tysabri patients at the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy’s 2006 Educational Conference in Chicago.