Biogen MS Pill With $3 Billion Potential Hits Study Goals
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Biogen Idec Inc., the world’s largest maker of multiple sclerosis medicines, gained the most in six months after the experimental MS pill BG-12 was safe and reduced the risk of relapse in a second late-stage trial.
The study evaluated BG-12 and Copaxone, an injected treatment from Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. It found Biogen’s pill reduced the annual rate of relapse by 44 percent when taken twice daily, and by 51 percent when taken three times a day compared with placebo, meeting the trial goals, the Weston, Massachusetts-based company said today in a statement. Copaxone reduced the rate by 29 percent versus placebo.