To print: Select File and then Print from your browser's menu --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Title: Betaseron Fast Tracked In Canada For Multiple Sclerosis URL: http://www.pslgroup.com/dg/AB93A.htm Doctor's Guide August 26, 1998
MONTREAL, QC -- Aug. 26, 1998 -- The Health Protection Branch of Health Canada will conduct a fast track review of a new indication for Berlex Canada Inc.'s Betaseron(R), a Multiple Sclerosis medication which was the first available treatment for people with relapsing remitting MS. Once approved, Betaseron will become the first medication for MS patients with a more advanced form of the disease, known as secondary progressive MS (SPMS). Recent interim results from a European clinical trial show Betaseron delays disease progression in patients with secondary progressive MS. The two-year (interim) results were so convincing, that an independent advisory committee recommended that the trial be stopped for ethical reasons, allowing placebo patients to be offered Betaseron. "This is the first evidence that there is an effective treatment for secondary progressive patients. This should provide people with secondary progressive MS a reason to have hope." said Dr. Chris Polman, one of the principle researchers on the European clinical trial, and an internationally renown expert on multiple sclerosis. HPB priority review, or fast track decisions are normally delivered in six months from the moment that the file is accepted for review. It is estimated that there are between 35,000 and 50,000 Canadians who have MS. About 70 percent of people are diagnosed with the relapsing remitting form of MS. Approximately half of them develop secondary progressive MS within 10 years of diagnosis. If approved, it is expected that thousands of Canadian SPMS patients could eventually benefit from the new indication. Related Links: Berlex Canada Inc., Betaseron --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 1999 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of P\S\L content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of P\S\L. P\S\L shall not be liable for any errors, omissions or delays in this content or any other content on its sites, newsletters or other publications, nor for any decisions or actions taken in reliance on such content. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This news story was printed from *Doctor's Guide to the Internet* located at http://www.docguide.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return to News Story Page This site is maintained by webmaster@pslgroup.com Please contact us with any comments, problems or bugs. All contents Copyright (c) 1998 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved.