PharmaSentry :: Abbott enters final clinical trial of MS drug: First of 1,500 patients enroll to receive monthly injection [Chicago Tribune]

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Abbott enters final clinical trial of MS drug: First of 1,500 patients enro..
From Chicago Tribune (IL) 24-Jun-2010
June 24--Abbott Laboratories and its Massachusetts biotech partner have launched a final-stage clinical trial of their experimental treatment for multiple sclerosis. The first of an eventual 1,500 patients needed worldwide was enrolled last month in the U.S. Multiple sclerosis, a common neurological disorder that affects an estimated 2.5 million people worldwide, occurs when a patient's immune system starts to attack the central nervous system.

Key Concepts
• patients
• drug
• clinical trials
• Biogen
• Abbott
• apos
• daclizumab
• multiple sclerosis
• progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy
• monoclonal antibody
• annual sales
• University Hospital
• chicagotribune
• blockbuster
• Switzerland

Summary

•	Abbott enters final clinical trial of MS drug: First of 1,500 patients enroll to receive monthly injection [Chicago Tribune]
•	June 24--Abbott Laboratories and its Massachusetts biotech partner have launched a final-stage clinical trial of their experimental treatment for multiple sclerosis.
•	The first of an eventual 1,500 patients needed worldwide was enrolled last month in the U.S.
•	The drug, daclizumab, is being developed for monthly injection under the patient's skin by North Chicago-based Abbott and Cambridge-based Biogen Idec.
•	The trial is important because the drug industry is searching for new ways to change the course of the debilitating autoimmune disease, rather than merely treating the symptoms, as most products on the market do.
•	Multiple sclerosis, a common neurological disorder that affects an estimated 2.5 million people worldwide, occurs when a patient's immune system starts to attack the central nervous system.
•	"Despite significant advances in MS therapy, many patients continue to experience disease activity," said Dr. Ludwig Kappos, lead investigator for the Abbott- and Biogen-funded study and head of MS research at University Hospital in Basel, Switzerland.
•	"The MS community is eager for new treatment approaches."