Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. said its Copaxone reduced the risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS) in patients with a first clinical event and MRI features. Based on these results, Teva plans to file a request for marketing authorization of Copaxone in Europe, the US and Canada for the treatment of patients with a first clinical event suggestive of MS.
The positive results from a pre planned interim analysis of the PreCISe trial showed that treatment with Copaxone (glatiramer acetate injection) reduced the risk of clinically definite MS (CDMS) by 44 per cent versus placebo, and prolonged the quartile time to disease conversion to 722 days versus 336 days (+386 days, +115 per cent) in those patients receiving placebo (hazard ratio 0.56, p=0.0005). At the time of the interim analysis, the proportion of patients who had developed CDMS was reduced from 43 per cent in the placebo group to only 25 per cent in the Copaxone group.
"We are deeply impressed by Teva's commitment to continue developing Copaxone for patients presenting with a first clinical event and MRI suggestive of MS. After analyzing the data from the PreCISe study at the interim analysis, the DMC recommended that the placebo arm of the trial be stopped, as Copaxone successfully met the efficacy endpoint of the study; all placebo patients will now be given the opportunity to receive active treatment with Copaxone for two years," said Professor Paul O'Connor, Neurology Division Chief at St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Canada and the chairman of the study's independent data monitoring committee (DMC).
This study further demonstrated the beneficial effect of early treatment with Copaxone on disease activity and burden, also in its early stages, as measured by both short-term clinical and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) disease outcomes. Copaxone is the only relapsing remitting MS (RRMS) treatment with data from a long-term, prospective, ongoing study which demonstrated that in those patients adhering to therapy, 92 per cent still walk unassisted after a mean of 10 years of therapy and 18 years of disease duration.
Professor Giancarlo Comi, Department of Neurology, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy, and principal investigator of the study said, "We are very pleased by the results of this trial. These data on Copaxone demonstrated the importance of treating patients early on to provide rapid, early control of progression to CDMS, and stand to improve therapy options for the treatment of patients with first clinical event and a high risk to develop MS."
The multi-national, multi-centre, prospective, double-blind, randomised, phase III PreCISe study was conducted in approximately 100 centres located in the US, Europe, Argentina, Israel, Nordic countries, Australia and New Zealand and included a total of 481 patients presenting with a single clinical episode and MRI suggestive of MS. Patients included are those who had a unifocal disease manifestation (i.e., clinical evidence of a single lesion). Patients received either Copaxone 20mg/day or placebo as a subcutaneous injection and continued treatment for up to 36 months, unless a second attack was experienced and they were diagnosed with clinically definite MS. Patients who converted to CDMS continued the trial on active treatment for additional two years. The primary efficacy outcome was time to CDMS, based on a second clinical attack. The pre-planned interim analysis was performed on data accumulated from approximately 80 percent of the three-year placebo-controlled study exposure. Over the period up to the interim analysis, the proportion of patients developing CDMS was reduced from 43 per cent in the placebo group to only 25 per cent in the Copaxone group (p< 0.0001).
Copaxone was also very well tolerated in the PreCISe study, with only 13 per cent overall dropouts during the up to three-year study period, similar to that observed in RRMS patients treated with Copaxone. All patients in the study participate in a follow-up study with Copaxone to prospectively assess the impact of early versus delayed treatment with Copaxone on the long-term course of the disease for a total observation time of up to five years.
Current data suggest Copaxone is a selective MHC (Major Histocompatability Complex) class II modulator. Copaxone is indicated for the reduction of the frequency of relapses in RRMS. Copaxone is very well tolerated and the most common side effects of Copaxone are redness, pain, swelling, itching, or a lump or an indentation at the site of injection, weakness, infection, pain, nausea, joint pain, anxiety, and muscle stiffness.
Copaxone is now approved in 47 countries worldwide, including the United States, all European countries, Canada, Mexico, Australia, and Israel. In Europe, Copaxone is marketed by Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. and sanofi-aventis. In North America, Copaxone is marketed by Teva Neuroscience, Inc.
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., headquartered in Israel, is a leading generic pharmaceutical company, which develops, manufactures and markets generic and innovative pharmaceuticals and active pharmaceutical ingredients. Over 80 per cent of Teva's sales are in North America and Western Europe. Teva's innovative R&D focuses on developing novel drugs for diseases of the central nervous system.