Elan reports sustained MS treatment effect of Tysabri

Elan has presented the results of the Touch prescribing programme and Tygris safety study at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology. This new data confirms the safety profile of Tysabri (natalizumab) as seen in previous clinical trials of the compound.

Additional study data presented at the meeting showed the sustained treatment effect on the risk of disability progression and clinical relapses in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS).

In the study, MS patients treated with Tysabri saw an annualised relapse rate of 0.23, equating to an average of a relapse every 4.3 years in these individuals.

Furthermore, the percentage of patients with 24-week sustained disability progression over two years dropped 54 per cent when administered with Tysabri compared to those receiving placebo, down to 11 per cent.

Paul O’Connor, lead investigator of the Tysabri extension study, commented that the findings of the trials “contribute to our evolving understanding of the utilisation of this therapy”.

He described the compound as providing an “important treatment option” for patients suffering from the devastating symptoms of MS.

Last week, Elan reported that the firm had made progress in its patient uptake for Tysabri in Europe during the first quarter of the 2007 financial year.