Video: Landmark Study in The Lancet: Patients Treated With Betaseron(R) After First MS Attack Experienced Significant Delay in MS P...(n of MS to delay theaccumulation of disa...),Health

"We now see real hope for changing the course of disease progression for relapsing MS if people with the disease start an effective treatment like Betaseron right away, rather than wait for further clinical signs of MS to occur," said James Simsarian, M.D., past president of the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC) and director of the MS program at the Neurology Center of Fairfax in Fairfax, Virginia.

Other key findings of the BENEFIT follow-up study include:

-- Sensitivity analyses confirmed the robustness of the main findings.

-- Development of neutralizing antibodies did not have an impact on

disability-related or relapse-related outcomes in the trial.

-- Betaseron was safe and well-tolerated, with the reporting of adverse

events (AEs) similar to those previously reported for the drug.(3)

-- 90 percent of the patients who entered the follow-up study elected to

receive Betaseron treatment, indicating high patient acceptance of

treatment. In the study, methods that may have helped patients stay on

therapy included: the implementation of dose titration at the start of

treatment, the use of an auto-injector to give the injections and co-

medication with an analgesic in the first weeks of treatment.

"Bayer HealthCare revolutionized the treatment of MS when we introduced Betaseron as the first disease-modifying treatment," said Darlene Jody, M.D., Senior Vice President and President of Bayer HealthCare's Specialized Therapeutics Global Business Unit. "The BENEFIT results have the potential to again transform the MS treatment paradigm as they provide convincing evidence that treating patients with Betaseron shortly after the first clinical event suggestive of MS can delay disability progression."

About BENEFIT

BENEFIT is a multi-center trial conducted at 98 sites in 20 countries and included pa
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SOURCE Bayer Copyright©2007 PR Newswire.

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