Biogen announced that the new research collected from more than 16,000 multiple sclerosis (MS) patients across Europe, in the largest study to capture the widespread impact of the disease, along with updated clinical findings from the company's broad portfolio of MS therapies will be presented at the 32nd congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS) in London, 14-17 September 2016.
The Biogen-sponsored MS Cost of Illness (COI) study further builds on the highly influential and frequently cited 2005 European COI study, which examined the burden of MS on patients and their caregivers in Europe. Gisela Kobelt, PhD, president, European Health Economics, the author of both the 2005 research and the new study, will present the data during the congress and share insights in a workshop attended by patient groups and the study’s clinical advisors.
“We look forward to hearing from the patient community in our upcoming ECTRIMS workshop on the burden of illness in MS. We encourage an open discussion about how the community can apply the main findings of the study to engage and educate researchers, governments, and policy makers around the issues most critical to patients, and, ultimately, identify new ways to improve outcomes in the treatment of MS,” said Ralph Kern, M.D., senior vice president, Worldwide Medical, Biogen.
Additional data to be presented at ECTRIMS will highlight Biogen’s industry-leading portfolio including Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate), the world’s most-prescribed oral MS treatment, and Zinbryta (daclizumab), a new once-monthly, self-administered, subcutaneous treatment recently approved in the United States and the European Union: Real-world data and new clinical evidence that demonstrate Tecfidera consistently delivers strong, sustained efficacy in reducing disease activity among newly diagnosed and previously treated patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS).
Additional data affirm Tecfidera’s well-characterized safety profile in patients who have had up to nine years of treatment; A new analysis from the pivotal DECIDE study that further supports the positive impact of Zinbryta on no evidence of disease activity (NEDA), and the first interim results from the ongoing EXTEND study, providing up to five years of efficacy and safety data; Detailed results evaluating opicinumab (anti-LINGO-1) in people with relapsing forms of MS from the phase 2 SYNERGY study, the largest study investigating remyelination conducted to date.
