Experimental MS Pill Continues to Show Promise

Sept. 19, 2012 -- An experimental pill is showing promise for the treatment of multiple sclerosis.

In two late-phase studies appearing in The New England Journal of Medicine, the drug BG-12 (dimethyl fumarate) reduced relapses by about half in patients with the most common form of MS.

If approved by the FDA, BG-12, which is being developed by drug maker Biogen Idec, will become the third oral drug for people with multiple sclerosis.

The second -- Sanofi Aventis pill Aubagio -- won FDA approval just last week.

This is an exciting time in the development of new drugs for MS, especially considering the fact that we had no effective treatments just a few decades ago, says National MS Society Chief Research Officer Timothy Coetzee, PhD.

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic disease in which the immune system attacks the insulation that coats and protects nerve fibers of the brain and spinal cord.

With the most common type, people experience sporadic attacks or flare-ups of symptoms that are then followed by periods of remission. Symptoms include numbness, fatigue, vision problems, spasms, and issues with bladder and bowel control.

People with this "relapsing-remitting" form of MS were the target group for the new oral drug.

The two newly published trials were funded by the drugs manufacturer.

In one, patients with relapsing-remitting disease who took BG-12 twice a day had a 44% reduction in relapses over two years of treatment. In the second study, the relapse reduction over the same period was 53%.

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Experimental MS Pill Continues to Show Promise