Biogen Idec’s TECFIDERA™ (Dimethyl Fumarate) Approved in US as a First-Line Oral Treatment for Multiple Sclerosis

– Offers a Broad Spectrum of Patients with Relapsing Forms of MS an Effective and Convenient Treatment Option –

– Reduces Relapses and Disability Progression –

– Strengthens Biogen Idec’s Portfolio of Innovative Treatments for People Living with MS –

WESTON, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Today Biogen Idec (NAS: BIIB) announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved TECFIDERA™ (dimethyl fumarate), a new first-line oral treatment for people with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). Biogen Idec will make this oral capsule available to people living with MS in the United States in the coming days.

TECFIDERA has been clinically proven to significantly reduce important measures of disease activity, including relapses and development of brain lesions, as well as to slow disability progression over time, while demonstrating a favorable safety and tolerability profile.

“With the FDA approval of TECFIDERA, we will offer the MS community a treatment with strong efficacy and a favorable safety profile in the convenience of a pill – a combination we believe will have a significant positive impact on the way people live with this chronic disease,” said George A. Scangos, Ph.D., chief executive officer of Biogen Idec. “Biogen Idec is committed to delivering innovative treatments and setting new standards for the next generation of medicines. We believe TECFIDERA will raise expectations for what people living with MS can achieve with their therapy.”

The FDA approval of TECFIDERA is based on data from a robust clinical development program that included DEFINE and CONFIRM, two global Phase 3 studies that enrolled more than 2,600 patients. In the ongoing extension study, ENDORSE, some patients receiving TECFIDERA have been followed for more than four years.

In DEFINE, TECFIDERA, administered twice daily, significantly reduced the proportion of patients who relapsed by 49 percent (p<0.0001), the annualized relapse rate (ARR) by 53 percent (p<0.0001), …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance