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Saturday
Oral FTY720 (Fingolimod) for Relapsing Multiple Sclerosis Shows Sustained Benefits for Up to 2 Years
MADRID, SPAIN -- September 30, 2006 -- The investigative oral agent FTY720 (fingolimod) shows sustained clinical benefits for up to 2 years for patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), according to data from an extension of a phase 2 study presented here at the 22nd Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS)."Notably, the relapse reduction rate of 50% and the inflammatory disease reduction rate of 80% that we saw at 6 months was sustained in this extension study," said lead investigator and presenter Ludwig Kappos, MD, head, Neurology-Neurosurgery Outpatients Clinics, University Hospital, Basel, Switzerland.The objective of the extension study was to report safety and efficacy results during 24 months of follow-up, the authors said....."These positive results support further evaluation of fingolimod as an oral treatment option in the ongoing phase III program in RRMS," they wrote....."It appears that FTY720 might not only offer significant clinical benefits to patients but, as an oral agent, it could also serve to enhance compliance," Dr. Kappos said. "Large-scale, international phase 3 studies of the use of the drug in relapsing-remitting MS are now underway," he added.....[Presentation title: Oral Fingolimod (FTY720) in Relapsing Multiple Sclerosis: 24-Month Results of the Phase II Study. Abstract P376]
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My Educational Video on MS and MS Trials
