Category Archives: MS Treatment

Stony Brook-led Study in Journal of Child Neurology is largest ever, includes data from all Pediatric MS Centers of Excellence Watch: One in Three Children with Multiple Sclerosis has Cognitive Impairment Newswise STONY BROOK, N.Y., February 5, 2013 Data from the largest multicenter study accessing cognitive functioning in children with multiple sclerosis (MS) reveals that one-third of these patients have cognitive impairment, according to a research paper published in the Journal of Child Neurology. Led by Lauren B. Krupp, MD, Director of the Lourie Center for Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis at Stony Brook Long Island Childrens Hospital, the study indicates that patients experience a range of problems related to cognition. In Cognitive Impairment Occurs in Children and Adolescents with Multiple Sclerosis: Results from a United States Network, Dr. Krupp and colleagues from Stony Brook and five other national Pediatric MS Centers of Excellence measured the cognitive functioning of 187 children and adolescents with MS, and 44 who experienced their first neurologic episode (clinically isolated syndrome) indicative of MS. They found that 35 percent of the patients with MS and 18 percent of those with clinically isolated syndrome met criteria for cognitive impairment. All patients were under age 18 with an average … Continue reading →

Wednesday, February 06 11:44:29 Irish drugmaker Elan is raising more than $3.25 billion by selling its interests in its main drug and will splash out most of the proceeds on acquisitions, effectively reinventing itself as a company. Under a deal announced today, Elan's partner Biogen Idec will take full ownership of blockbuster multiple sclerosis (MS) treatment Tysabri and will make an upfront payment to the Irish group plus royalties on future sales. While the deal gives Elan scope to return some cash to shareholders as well as strategic flexibility to buy new assets, it leaves its future shape unclear since Tysabri was by far its most important product, responsible for almost all its revenue. Elan has already spoken to several companies about potential deals and can move quickly once the sale its completed, Chief Executive Kelly Martin told Reuters. "You can do a lot of things with $3 billion, you can buy companies, molecules, you can partner, you can share risk. The world is our oyster," Martin said in a telephone interview. "We are not necessarily restricting ourselves to one therapeutic area or one type of clinical asset. We will not be restricted to our past, which was by and … Continue reading →

* Elan agrees to cede control of Tysabri to U.S. partner * Elan has already spoken to companies about potential deals * Biogen says deal a natural step, will add to 2013 earnings * Irish company's shares rise 8 pct, highest since November (Xetra: A0Z24E - news) By Padraic Halpin DUBLIN, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Irish drugmaker Elan will raise more than $3.25 billion by selling its interests in its main drug to partner Biogen Idec (NasdaqGS: BIIB - news) and effectively reinvent itself by splashing most of the cash on acquisitions. Under a deal announced on Wednesday, Massachusetts-based Biogen will take full ownership of blockbuster multiple sclerosis (MS) treatment Tysabri and will make an upfront payment to the Irish group plus royalties on future sales. While the deal gives Elan scope to return some cash to shareholders as well as strategic flexibility to buy new assets, it leaves its future shape unclear since Tysabri was by far its most important product, responsible for almost all its revenue. Elan has already spoken to several companies about potential deals and can move quickly over the next 12-18 months once the sale is completed, Chief Executive Kelly Martin told Reuters. "You can … Continue reading →

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Biogen Idec is to take full ownership of blockbuster multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri after agreeing to pay Irish partner Elan $3.25 billion plus future royalties on sales of the drug. Irish drugmaker Elan, which has co-marketed the drug with the larger U.S. company for 12 years, said it would receive a royalty of 12 percent of Tysabri global net sales for the first 12 months after the restructuring closes. A tiered royalty structure will kick in after that, it said, with Elan receiving 18 percent on up to $2 billion of global net sales and 25 percent on any sales over that amount. Sales of Tysabri, which provides Elan with almost all of its revenue, rose 8 percent to $1.6 billion last year. A filing last month for approval to sell the drug as a first-line treatment for could boost sales further. "The restructuring of this business collaboration provides Elan with significant strategic flexibility ... The risk of one asset and a single collaborator was not ideal," Elan chief executive Kelly Martin said in a statement. "We are enthusiastic about the market opportunities around the globe and remain flexible and creative about the manner in which we … Continue reading →

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Irish drugmaker Elan is raising more than $3.25 billion by selling its interests in its main drug and will splash out most of the proceeds on acquisitions, effectively reinventing itself as a company. Under a deal announced on Wednesday, Elan's partner Biogen Idec will take full ownership of blockbuster multiple sclerosis (MS) treatment Tysabri and will make an upfront payment to the Irish group plus royalties on future sales. While the deal gives Elan scope to return some cash to shareholders as well as strategic flexibility to buy new assets, it leaves its future shape unclear since Tysabri was by far its most important product, responsible for almost all its revenue. Elan has already spoken to several companies about potential deals and can move quickly once the sale its completed, Chief Executive Kelly Martin told Reuters. "You can do a lot of things with $3 billion, you can buy companies, molecules, you can partner, you can share risk. The world is our oyster," Martin said in a telephone interview. "We are not necessarily restricting ourselves to one therapeutic area or one type of clinical asset. We will not be restricted to our past, which was by and … Continue reading →

M. Haris Z Deen, Ph.D., MBA., BSc., LLB (Hons.) FRICS Naveen Pillai having failed in her earlier attempts in the United Nations Human Rights Council in March 2012 to humble and humiliate Sri Lanka on its Human Rights record, continues to rake muck in further attempts to save face at her previous failures. United Nations Human Rights Council session in progress Sri Lanka though bravely faced, confronted and responded effectively to all the charges levelled against her. Furthermore, Sri Lanka, in allowing foreign fact finding missions to the places ravaged by the civil conflict (which has been erroneously termed war) and to confront and question the very people, the Tamils, against whom Naveen claims atrocities have been committed have displayed complete transparency. So far none of these foreign agencies have been able to come up with any evidence to support the trumped up allegations. In fact, Sri Lanka in my view is the only country prepared to open its doors to such fact finding missions to travel freely to wherever they wished to go and speak to whomever they wished to gain evidence from, thus proving that she has no proverbial 'skeletons in her cupboards'. In fact in May 2012 … Continue reading →

SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwire - Feb 4, 2013) - Medivation, Inc. ( NASDAQ : MDVN ) today announced that Kathryn E. Falberg has been elected to the Company's Board of Directors.Ms. Falberg will also serve as chair of the Audit Committee. "We are delighted to welcome an experienced pharmaceutical executive of Kate's caliber to Medivation's board," said David Hung, M.D., president and chief executive officer of Medivation, Inc. "As prior chief financial officer at Amgen and current chief financial officer at Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Kate brings to our board critical and highly relevant experience successfully leading pharmaceutical companies through periods of rapid growth.Her financial acumen and strategic business and commercial insight will be invaluable additions to our board at a critical time of growth and transformation for Medivation." "I am honored to join the Medivation Board of Directors at such an exciting time in the company's development," said Ms. Falberg."I admire Medivation's success in identifying and developing novel therapies that treat diseases with limited therapeutic options and look forward to providing strategic guidance to help further grow its business." Ms. Falberg currently serves as the executive vice president and chief financial officer of Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc. She also served as its senior … Continue reading →

Posted: Feb. 1, 2013 | 2:02 a.m. As Dr. Timothy West watched, Jason Buckley walked down a hallway at the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health with a cane. "Man, that's great, you were riding a scooter or on crutches not that long ago," said West, who is treating Buckley with a drug regimen and targeted physical therapy to relieve the symptoms of multiple sclerosis, MS. It is an often debilitating disease for about 400,000 people in the United States in which the body's immune system eats away at the protective sheath that covers a person's nerves, a process that interferes with the communication between the brain and the rest of the body. His increased mobility had the 36-year-old Buckley smiling Wednesday. So did something else West told him: The MS program at the Ruvo Center has been awarded a grant of $1.35 million over three years by the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, allowing patient participation in research trials, the funding of additional staff, the purchase of diagnostic equipment and the expansion of social service, community outreach and education programs to underserved communities throughout Nevada. "To me, it means we'll have access here to the latest drugs in … Continue reading →

Spring of Youth Medical Group is having a Grand Re-Opening Open House on January 31. The Mayor will be joining us on February 1 for a special Ribbon Cutting ceremony. Ocean Springs, MS (PRWEB) February 01, 2013 Then, on Friday, City of Ocean Springs Mayor, Connie M. Moran, will attend the ribbon-cutting at Spring of Youth Medical Groups new state-of-the-art facility. Mayor Moran grew up in Ocean Springs, MS and was elected Mayor of her hometown in June 2005. Everyone in the Coastal MS area and especially those with varicose veins, spider veins, or who are interested in improving their appearance with the latest aesthetic treatments are welcome to attend the Jan. 31 Open House and the Feb. 1 ribbon cutting. Reservations are required for the Open House, as space is limited. Call 228.283.0077 today to secure a space as a guest at this wonderful event. About Dr. Hazem Barmada A practicing physician for over 30 years, Dr. Hazem Barmada is a Cardio-Vascular and Thoracic Surgeon, with special interest in venous and lymphatic disease. As a Cardiac-Vascular surgeon with extensive national and international experience, he has acquired broad expertise in managing venous disease, harvesting veins, and dealing with any possible … Continue reading →

Jan. 30, 2013 Being obese may increase the risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS) in children and teenage girls, according to new research published in the January 30, 2013, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. "Over the last 30 years, childhood obesity has tripled," said study author Annette Langer-Gould, MD, PhD, with the Kaiser Permanente Southern California Department of Research & Evaluation in Pasadena and a member of the American Academy of Neurology. "In our study, the risk of pediatric MS was highest among moderately and extremely obese teenage girls, suggesting that the rate of pediatric MS cases is likely to increase as the childhood obesity epidemic continues." For the study, researchers identified 75 children and adolescents diagnosed with pediatric MS between the ages of 2 and 18. Body mass index (BMI) from before symptoms appeared was obtained. The children with MS were compared to 913,097 children who did not have MS. All participants were grouped into weight classes of normal weight, overweight, moderate obesity and extreme obesity. A total of 50.6 percent of the children with MS were overweight or obese, compared to 36.6 percent of the children who did not have … Continue reading →