Merck Serono receives US approval for Rebif Rebidose

Merck Serono's multiple sclerosis (MS) treatment Rebif Rebidose has been granted an important regulatory approval in the US.

The single-use auto-injector for the self-administration of the relapsing MS drug Rebif has been ratified by the US Food and Drug Administration, based on positive data from a 12-week phase IIIb clinical study programme.

It was shown that the product was able to deliver benefits in terms of ease of use, functional reliability and patient satisfaction and acceptability, with the majority of patients saying they found the device convenient.

Rebif RebiDose was launched in Europe in 2010 and will now be made available in the US in early 2013.

Belen Garijo, head of global operations at Merck Serono, said: "We are committed to invest in valuable incremental innovations developed to bring additional value for the patient."

This comes after the firm last year introduced RebiSlide, a multidose manual pen injector for MS treatment with Rebif, in Europe and Canada.