Biogen Idec To Present New Data From Neurology Portfolio At AAN

Biogen Idec announced that it will present more than 60 platform and poster presentations on new clinical data from its neurology portfolio at the 66th American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Annual Meeting to be held in Philadelphia this month. The presentations will include both marketed and investigational therapies for neurological diseases.

Among the data to be presented are the two-year results from the pivotal Phase III ADVANCE study for PLEGRIDY (Peginterferon Beta-1a) in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. Results show that PLEGRIDY significantly increased the proportion of patients with freedom from measured disease activity in RRMS. The drug may also enhance recovery following relapses in patients.

Another highlight is the company’s presentation of data for its currently marketed drug TECFIDERA (dimethyl fumarate). A multi-center, open label study of the drug in patients with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis assessed gastrointestinal tolerability of delayed release dimethyl fumarate. The drug’s clinical efficacy in patients with RRMS and with highly active disease was also evaluated in the Phase III DEFINE and CONFIRM studies.

Alfred Sandrock, SVP and CMO at Biogen Idec, said, “For more than 20 years, Biogen Idec has been dedicated to improving the lives of people with MS. We have a broad portfolio and pipeline of innovative MS medicines, we perform important research that continues to advance our understanding of this disease, and we provide meaningful support services for people living with MS. The breadth of data we are presenting at AAN reinforces our enduring commitment to reducing the impact of MS and other serious neurodegenerative diseases.”

Additional presentations will include data on marketed products TYSABRI (natalizumab), AVONEX (interferon beta-1a) and FAMPYRA (prolonged-release fampridine tablets), as well as results from clinical programs of its MS pipeline candidates daclizumab high-yield process (DAC HYP) and Anti-LINGO-1 (BIIB033). The company said the scope and rigor of the data reflects its leadership in advancing neurological research and improving patient outcomes in multiple sclerosis as well as other diseases.