Amevive approved for psoriasis

BT Catalyst,  Feb-March, 2003  

• E-mail
• Print
• Link

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved Biogen's (Nasdaq: BGEN) Amevive for the treatment of adult patients with moderate-to-severe chronic plaque psoriasis who are candidates for systemic therapy or phototherapy.

The company is manufacturing the new drug at its facilities in Research Triangle Park.

"The availability of Amevive is important because it offers a unique treatment option with the potential to provide patients with months free from both psoriasis and its treatment," said James C. Mullen, Biogen's chairman and CEO. Biogen worked on the research and development of Amevive for 15 years.

Psoriasis is an autoimmune disease in which skin cells multiply 10 times faster than normal. The excess cells pile up on the skin's surface, forming red, raised, scaly plaques that can be painful and disfiguring. Psoriasis affects about 80 million people worldwide and 4.5 million U.S. adults. Approximately 1.5 million U.S. adults suffer from the moderate-to-severe form of the disease.

"In our clinical trials, patients took the medication for 12 weeks and then stopped treatment for several months," said clinical investigator Dr. Kenneth Gordon of Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill. "During this time off treatment, many of our patients had prolonged remission of their disease."

Biogen's staff in RTP has grown from 263 one year ago to 420 to accommodate the manufacture of Amevive. The company expects Amevive sales to reach at least $85 million in 2003 and $500 million by 2006.

For more information visit the company's Web site at www.biogen.com.

COPYRIGHT 2003 North Carolina Biotechnology Center
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning