Content about Interferon beta-1a

NEW YORK — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a new means of administration for a multiple sclerosis drug, the manufacturers said.

Pfizer and EMD Serono announced the approval of Rebif Rebidose (interferon beta-1a), a single-use auto-injector for self-administering Rebif, used to treat relapsing forms of MS. EMD Serono is the U.S. division of German drug maker Merck KGaA, so-named to avoid confusion with U.S.-based Merck & Co.

ST. PAUL, Minn. — A pharmacy benefit manager and the U.S. subsidiary of a German drug maker have made a deal concerning a drug for multiple sclerosis.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — An orally administered drug made by Genzyme for treating multiple sclerosis did not appear superior to a biotech drug already on the market, according to results of a late-stage clinical trial.

Genzyme, owned by French drug maker Sanofi, compared the once-daily drug teriflunomide with Rebif (interferon beta-1a), made by Pfizer and Merck KGaA, in patients with relapsing MS in the 324-patient "TENERE" trial. Merck KGaA, based in Germany, operates under the name EMD Serono in the United States to avoid confusion with U.S.-based Merck & Co.

JERUSALEM — Multiple sclerosis patients treated with a drug made by Teva Pharmaceutical Industries showed a "significant" reduction in their loss of brain volume, according to a new study.

Results of a five-year study published in the Journal of the Neurological Sciences found that Copaxone (glatiramer acetate) produced significant reductions in patients' loss of brain volume compared with other disease-modifying therapies.