MS drug Copaxone successful in preventing MS relapses

It is always refreshing to see evidence of a traditional treatment option continuously improving the lives of those living with a chronic illness.  Most of the time, we are reading about studies of what therapies may work and what new side effects or diseases a debilitating condition could later produce.  This past month, however, the journal, Multiple Sclerosis, published data from a fifteen year clinical study of the drug, Copaxone.  The drug, which is a glatiramer acetate injection, showed great promise in continuously reducing relapses and their frequency in multiple sclerosis patients.  It is produced by Teva Pharmaceuticals, who funded this study, which was the longest and continuous examination of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis patients.

The study focused on patients who had lived with multiple sclerosis for an average of twenty-two years.  The injection of the drug was taken per dosing instructions and on a regular, scheduled basis.  The researchers found that more than eight percent of patients were still able to walk without assistance over the course of the fifteen year study.  Additionally, they found that two thirds of the participants had not transitioned to secondary progressive multiple sclerosis.  Those who had been active in the study the longest also showed a decline in relapses of the disease.  Although this study is important as far as demonstrating the effectiveness of Copaxone in those living with multiple sclerosis, the data also shows the safety of the drug.  Throughout the study, the researchers found that the most common side effects of the drug were injection-site reactions and minimal post-injection reactions.  The primary investigator of the study, Corey Ford, M.D., Ph.D. summed up the study, saying, “This study is important for the MS community as it further confirms the benefits of continuous long-term use of Copaxone® and its ability to effectively slow the natural progression of this disease.  It is encouraging to see such long-term results that further support the well-established benefit-to-risk profile of this treatment relevant to a life-long disease.”

This study, in its nineteenth year, was so effective that it has been extended to continue to its twentieth year.  It is likely that this data will have a strong effect on the multiple sclerosis community.  This drug appears to have a long lasting effect on the quality of life of multiple sclerosis sufferers, while limiting exposure to unsightly side effects of taking an injection.  Simply knowing that a drug has a good track history of preventing relapses and improving daily living is reason enough to ask your doctor about this treatment option.  It is encouraging to read such a study, but even more fulfilling to be one of its positive statistics.