MEDICINES AVAILABLE
Avonex (interferon beta-1a) is a medication manufactured by a biotechnological process from one of the naturally-occurring interferons (a type of protein). It is made up of exactly the same amino acids (major components of proteins) as the interferon beta found in the human body.
Avonex is given as a once-a-week intramuscular injection, usually in the large muscles of the thigh, upper arm, or hip.
Betaseron (interferon beta-1b) is a medication manufactured by a biotechnological process from one of the naturally occurring interferons (a type of protein).
Betaseron is injected subcutaneously (between the fat layer just under the skin and the muscles beneath) every other day.
Copaxone (glatiramer acetate) Glatiramer acetate is a synthetic compound made up of four amino acids (the building blocks of proteins) that are found in myelin.
Glatiramer acetate is injected subcutaneously (between the fat layer just under the skin and the muscles beneath) once a day.
Novantrone (mitoxantrone) belongs to the general group of medicines called antineoplastics. Prior to its approval for use in MS, it was used only to treat certain forms of cancer. It acts in MS by suppressing the activity of T cells, B cells, and macrophages that are thought to lead the attack on the myelin sheath. The use of Novantrone for the treatment of MS has been evaluated in a series of European studies over a period of ten years. In a randomized, placebo-controlled, multi-center clinical trial involving patients with secondary-progressive or progressive-relapsing disease, participants received 12mg/m2 of Novantrone by short IV infusion once every three months for 24 months. Novantrone was found to delay the time to first treated relapse and time to disability progression. It also reduced the number of treated relapses and number of new lesions detected by magnetic resonance imaging.
Tysabri is a laboratory-produced monoclonal antibody.
It is designed to hamper movement of potentially damaging immune cells from the bloodstream, across the “blood-brain barrier” into the brain and spinal cord. Tysabri was evaluated in a pair of two-year, controlled clinical trials:
•Study I compared Tysabri to placebo in patients who had not received any interferon-beta or glatiramer acetate for at least the previous six months.
•Study II involved patients who had experienced one or more relapses while on treatment with Avonex. Half of the group took Tysabri in addition to their Avonex; half of the group took Avonex plus a placebo.
In both studies, those taking the medication had a reduced risk of disability progression and experienced fewer exacerbations (relapses) compared with the group taking a placebo. At the present time, safety and efficacy of treatment with Tysabri beyond two years are not known. Tysabri has not been studied in people with primary progressive MS or in children.
Avonex (interferon beta-1a) is a medication manufactured by a biotechnological process from one of the naturally-occurring interferons (a type of protein). It is made up of exactly the same amino acids (major components of proteins) as the interferon beta found in the human body.
Avonex is given as a once-a-week intramuscular injection, usually in the large muscles of the thigh, upper arm, or hip.
Betaseron (interferon beta-1b) is a medication manufactured by a biotechnological process from one of the naturally occurring interferons (a type of protein).
Betaseron is injected subcutaneously (between the fat layer just under the skin and the muscles beneath) every other day.
Copaxone (glatiramer acetate) Glatiramer acetate is a synthetic compound made up of four amino acids (the building blocks of proteins) that are found in myelin.
Glatiramer acetate is injected subcutaneously (between the fat layer just under the skin and the muscles beneath) once a day.
Novantrone (mitoxantrone) belongs to the general group of medicines called antineoplastics. Prior to its approval for use in MS, it was used only to treat certain forms of cancer. It acts in MS by suppressing the activity of T cells, B cells, and macrophages that are thought to lead the attack on the myelin sheath. The use of Novantrone for the treatment of MS has been evaluated in a series of European studies over a period of ten years. In a randomized, placebo-controlled, multi-center clinical trial involving patients with secondary-progressive or progressive-relapsing disease, participants received 12mg/m2 of Novantrone by short IV infusion once every three months for 24 months. Novantrone was found to delay the time to first treated relapse and time to disability progression. It also reduced the number of treated relapses and number of new lesions detected by magnetic resonance imaging.
Tysabri is a laboratory-produced monoclonal antibody.
It is designed to hamper movement of potentially damaging immune cells from the bloodstream, across the “blood-brain barrier” into the brain and spinal cord. Tysabri was evaluated in a pair of two-year, controlled clinical trials:
•Study I compared Tysabri to placebo in patients who had not received any interferon-beta or glatiramer acetate for at least the previous six months.
•Study II involved patients who had experienced one or more relapses while on treatment with Avonex. Half of the group took Tysabri in addition to their Avonex; half of the group took Avonex plus a placebo.
In both studies, those taking the medication had a reduced risk of disability progression and experienced fewer exacerbations (relapses) compared with the group taking a placebo. At the present time, safety and efficacy of treatment with Tysabri beyond two years are not known. Tysabri has not been studied in people with primary progressive MS or in children.
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