Category: Latest News

Two flu vaccines, the seasonal flu and the H1N1 (“swine flu”) vaccines, will be available for the 2009/2010 flu season. The seasonal flu vaccine protects individuals from three types of flu and is currently available. The H1N1 flu vaccine protects individuals from the newest type of flu, which was first detected in people living in the United States in April 2009. The H1N1 vaccine is expected to be available in early to mid-October 2009.

On August 14, 2009, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Extavia® (interferon beta-1b) for the treatment of relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS).

On July 27, 2009, Eli Lilly and BioMS Medical Corporation announced that dirucotide did not meet the primary endpoint of the MAESTRO-01 study, which was the delay of disease progression in secondary-progressive MS (SPMS) as measured by EDSS (Expanded Disability Status Scale).

The Multiple Sclerosis Association of America’s (MSAA) educational web video series, A Closer Look, recently won the highly acclaimed Stevie Award in the category of Interactive Multimedia/Public Information.

In January 2009, Merck Serono (Geneva Switzerland) announced results of their Phase III CLARITY trial. According to the release, cladribine tablets met the two-year endpoint of reducing the relapse rate in patients with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS). More than 1300 patients with RRMS participated in the CLARITY study, which was a 96- week, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, international trial.

Dirucotide, previously known as MBP8298, has been in clinical trials primarily for the treatment of secondary-progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS), but also for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). On January 30, 2009, dirucotide’s developer (BioMS Medical Corp.), announced the results of MINDSET-01, an exploratory phase II clinical trial designed to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of dirucotide in patients with RRMS.

More than 5,000 medical professionals attended this year’s first World Congress on Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis, held in Montreal, Canada this past September. MSAA’s Chief Medical Officer Jack Burks, MD, not only attended the meeting, but also reviewed approximately 1,000 poster presentations – specifically about the latest in MS news and research.

The Resource Detectives program, developed by the Multiple Sclerosis Association of America (MSAA), provides a virtual volunteer opportunity for anyone interested in giving back to the community but unable to do so in the traditional sense of working on-site.

A thinner needle will soon be available for individuals taking Betaseron® (interferon beta-1b) for the long-term treatment of MS. The thinner needle is being offered as a way to potentially help reduce the pain and anxiety often associated with injections.

Two changes have recently been made to the labeling and prescribing information for Tysabri® (natalizumab). Manufactured and marketed by Biogen Idec and Elan, Tysabri is approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) as well as Crohn’s disease.