Bloomberg.com
By Elizabeth Lopatto
April 9 (Bloomberg) -- Biogen Idec Inc. wants to take the fear out of prescribing its multiple sclerosis treatment Tysabri with a test that can tell patients their odds of getting a deadly brain illness from the drug.
The screening tool could be marketed as early as 2011 if clinical trials involving 9,000 people, set to start this year, show a low rate of false findings, said Naomi Aoki , a spokeswoman for the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based biotechnology company. The test is designed to detect the JC virus that causes progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, or PML, a brain-cell destroyer that can lead to disability and death.
Tysabri, which generated $1.1 billion in sales in 2009, has been linked to 42 PML cases, the company has reported. While it’s approved for use only after other drugs fail, 61 percent of 285 neurologists surveyed by RBC Capital Markets in San Francisco said Tysabri’s ability to slow MS progression would make it their first choice if they could assess the risk of PML.
If the test works, (Click to continue reading)
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